Question and and answer about Posting Freelance Work On Portfolio
Question and and answer about Posting Freelance Work On Portfolio
Q : Thank you for taking the time to read my question. I am a freelance graphic designer in the State of Washington (Seattle). I performed work for an agency and posted the completed work on my website. We had no contract for the work that was performed, nor did I orally or contractually give them rights to the material. It was always under the assumption that if the completed work was to be altered, I was to be called in to alter the work and be compensated for my time. This happened frequently. Also I would come in when there was a project, be compensated when the project was complete, all without a contract. I know that federal law has the Copyright Act of 1976 and the work for hire clause (U.S.C. 17 Section 101), that defines copyright law regarding independent contractors (101(2)) and who owns the rights to the material. And under those provisions I still own all the rights to the work. My questions: - Can I legally post the completed work on my portfolio website or is there a Washington statute that prevents me from doing such? - Who owns the copyrights to the work? - Does this federal law take precedence over state law?
A : We don't fault you for wanting to post your portfolio as an example of the type of work you do, but did the completed work also show the name of the agency and other identifying information that the client agency might have wanted to be kept confidential? Did the client agency complain to you? Protect yourself by substituting fake names for real ones.
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01-02-2010, 02:57 PM
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