Does your client contract protect your copyright?

The purpose of copyright is to protect work you create and prevent other people from using that work without your permission. In the UK, copyright protection is automatic and there is no requirement for you to register your work in order to be protected. While copyright does not apply to three dimensional designs like a finished interior or a piece of furniture, drawings and illustrations are subject to copyright protection. Copyright is a type of intellectual property and before agreeing to undertake any design work, designers should have a clear understanding of who will own the intellectual property they create as part of working for a client.

One of the foundations of a successful designer-client relationship is a clearly drafted contract that sets out the rights and responsibilities of both parties. Any design project involves the creation of intellectual property and the BIID recommends that all client contracts entered into by interior designers make clear who owns the rights to this intellectual property. We therefore recommend that any client contract you use or develop should take into consideration the following:

• A statement that you as the designer own all intellectual property rights, including the copyright in the documents and drawings produced in the course of the contract.
• That the client cannot register your design, or any part of your design, under the Registered Designs Regulations 2001 without your written consent.
• That the client cannot use your copyright drawings and documents for other projects without your written consent (Of course your contract will need to grant a licence for your client to use the drawings and documents you produce for the contracted project for the construction, use and sale of the project).
• In order to protect your copyright you may want to consider adding a provision that you will supply CAD and other specialist drawings, documents and plans in PDF format only.
• Your liability to your client in the event that your work is in breach of copyright or other intellectual rights of a third party.
• That you are not liable for the use of your drawings and documents outside of the contracted project.

We strongly recommend that designers use either one of the BIID contracts or if you prefer to create your own contract that you seek legal advice when drafting it.

You can find out more about copyright and other intellectual property rights or from ACID, who campaign on intellectual property rights for designers.