subject: Significant Issues With Web Design - Copyrighting Dilemmas [print this page] Violation of Web Design Copyright This is the use of designs from different websites already in existence by a person who has the intent to create a new website, or owns a website. They are under tight deadlines to finish the website, so they resort to using many designs they take from other, already existing sites. This is a violation of copyright law, and the owners of other web sites can take legal action. Also make the assumption that a third party may receive the outsource web design.
So the assumption is that there is the desire to outsource web design to a third party by a company. There might be guidance provided to the designer from the company with the color, links, and details for the site that has been proposed. Very frequently, the company may not own the copyright on its own design, and not enough time would be available to do any redesigning with new content. Web designers need to know that any web design, content, color schemes, or links belong to their sites' owners, and other designers cannot be used without a signed written agreement between them and the owners.
Copyright Laws For Web Design If a company copies web design or any other content, it must sign a written contract before or immediately after finishing its design, so it will not face penalties under copyright law. Copyright law states that when employees construct a web design for a company they are employed by, the copyright of that web design belongs to the company, not the employee.
Copyright laws, though they are thorough, could allow for royalty-free, non-exclusive licenses to suffice for cases without written agreements. In these cases, the license entitles the developer to legally maintain and upgrade a website. Although, if there is a lawsuit, the original designer many be favored by the copyright laws. According to copyright law, web designers who copy a design from non-protected websites are eligible to copyright that web design for themselves and their companies. In addition, according to copyright law, the designer may reuse and enhance the web design for another client. The web designer is required only to delete all confidential information appearing on the original web site.
If the website owner will not pay for the work on the design, there will probably be an argument with the web designer. The owner is protected by the law in this type of case, and, more so, if the amount is over five hundred dollars, which is the unfortunate part. And so, it is advisable that an agreement that is binding legally, which spells out the entire rights of the two parties totally in a contract, is entered into by the site owner and the web designer. Both the web designer and the owner of the Website will benefit a great deal from a contract like this.
