how can you protect your drawing

[Gary Puckett]

Does anyone know what you can do to protect your drawing. For instance you put together a drawing with a bid, you give the drawing and the bid to the client. The client shows your drawing to another shop and they under bid you and use your drawing.

There has to be a way to protect your drawing. I noticed that someone in our group puts on their drawings "Property Of XXXXXXXXXX" does something like this give you any repercussion?

Gary

[Nemanja Vujkovic]

Gary,
if you ask the costumer for deposit (some percent of the bid) and if costumer decides to go ahad with the project you just deduct the deposit of the project price. However, if the costumer decides not to go ahad with the project, the deposit is the price for the drawings that you made. Even if the costumer goes to another shop, you got paid for the work you did and everyone is happy.
Other option is that you do not let your costumer to walk out of your shop with the drawings.


Nemanja

[DanEpps]

Gary, Nemanja is right on target...see my earlier thread on How to Respond to Difficult Clients.

You can watermark your images but that will not keep someone from taking them to another shop and using them. Drawings are considered the property of the creator and have some copyright protections, but full copyright protections are available only if the drawing is registered with the Patents and Copyrights Office.

Ask yourself this: How many times has a client come to you with a magazine and said "I want this kitchen" and you, in turn, used the picture to design a kitchen for the customer? This is exactly what you are trying to prevent and it just can't be done. You would have to spend an enormous amount of time (and money) attempting to enforce a copyright. Unless an image is worth several million dollars in ongoing income (such as an artist selling prints), its just not worth it.

The cost of registering and defending copyrights for images (in research and legal fees) is not worth it in my opinion. It is better to change your business model and charge for design time. If you choose not to charge for design time, be prepared for every potential customer to take drawings to another shop.

[Rick Palechuk]

If the client wont respect your terms, then you don't want them.

[DanEpps]

If the client wont respect your terms, then you don't want them.

10-4!!!

When you go to buy a car, does the salesman allow you to take it and keep it without paying?

[Gary Puckett]

Maybe I need to tell you guys the story.

I had this client call me they had just moved here from out of state and just bought this house. They wanted a lot of work done to the house entertainment center,mantel, cubbies, kitchen area that needed cabinets, and so on. I posted the drawing on the entertainment center and mantel I think it was titled " my first one "

Well I was suppose to do all of it, I did the entertaiment center,mantel, and cubbies gave her the drawing for the kitchen area made 3 drawings, because she kept changing things went and found the corian to match the rest of the kitchen. She asked me if I could reduse the bid and get it down to a lower price I did, well to make a long story short I received an email from her saying they are going to have another shop do the work " but the design is different " the price was $400.00 cheeper.

Ok I said who is doing the work, she told me and I never heard of them. Well to find out they was over an hour away. To make a long story short she called me and wanted me to come over and look at another project I said ok, went over to look at the project and I asked her can I see the kitchen sure she says low and behold it was my design.

Gary

[DanEpps]

Everything you say is covered in the article I posted.

When she called asking you to do another project, you should have told her that you are not in the free design business and to get the other shop to do it. If she questioned that, tell her how much time you had in the design and your hourly rate. Explain that you lost $xxx on that design just for your time in creating it.

[Gary Puckett]

Dan,

I had to go there so I could see the kitchen and justify myself in saying they stole my design.
Doing another project for her would be asking to be used again.

Gary

[DanEpps]

What you ought to do is take on the new project then ask her for someone else's design that you can use for it.

[Gary Puckett]

Dan,


You know two wrongs don't make it right

Gary

[Nemanja Vujkovic]

That is true, however, it might help you feel a bit better!

[DanEpps]

Dan,


You know two wrongs don't make it right

Gary

No, but three lefts make a right.

[Kerry Fullington]

Gary,

Dan and I talked about this very subject just yesterday. Read his post that he mentioned. It has some very good points in it. I am bad about giving away design drawings then complaining when someone uses them to shop around. The solution is to never give out design drawings without collecting for the design up front because without an up front payment for the design that is just what we are doing, giving the design away.

After reading Dan's article my new approach on the initial visit with a potential customer is to ask "Do you have a design that you would like me to bid cabinets for?" When the answer is no I can then say "I would be glad to create a design for you. I charge $XXXXX for this service and this is what you will get for that fee."

We have to tell the customer that our work and time is valuable.

Kerry

[Michael S Murray]

I will say it again.
1.Estimate
2. 5-10% design fee or 50% deposit
3. proposal and drawings.

If you do it in that order, there will never be free drawings to be given away.
And yes you can give a very accurate estimate without a design....
And yes I will admit there is a possibility that you might lose one every now and then using this method, but it is far better than providing free drawings and your knowledge, many times giving them the courage to go to bix box and try it themselves.
I dont kow about you guys, but I dont need the practice!!!

[Kerry Fullington]

Michael,

I just finished the estimate for THIS KITCHEN.
How would you get an accurate estimate without the design?

Ballpark figures never seem to work because if they turn out too low that figure sticks in the customers mind and if it is too high you never hear from them again.

I would really like a way to get an estimate without a design but to my way of thinking, until you have the design you don't know what you are bidding on.

Keep in mind that I am not working for a general contractor that has a set of prints. I am working for a home owner who is pointing and saying."Were going to tear out that wall and we want cabinets here and here. Can you give us some ideas? We like a traditional contemporary old world modern look."

Kerry