Copyright on drawings and designs that are intended to be produced and sold on a commercial scale automatically belongs to the client, unless other arrangements have been made with the designer. This is the outcome of a recent ruling of the Amsterdam Court. A remarkable outcome, because until recently everyone thought that the client only got the copyrights if a drawing/design was registered, not in case of unregistered drawings/designs.
This means that from now on it is extra important for designers/advertising agencies to make clear written agreements about the copyrights on their creative works. If not, there is a serious risk that any copyrights on objects that are meant to be produced and sold on an industrial scale automatically accrue to the client. In other words: the designers/advertising agencies risk to loose “their” copyrights.
Which works of art are drawings/designs? According to Dutch law a drawing or a model is "any industrial or handicraft item, including inter alia parts intended for a complex product should be merged, packaging, performance, graphic symbols and typographic fonts. Translated into plain English this means: objects of applied art such as tables, chairs, vases, etc. And also prints for packaging, table cloths, fabrics, etc.
Maud van der Leeuw
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office Emerald House Jozef Israëlskade 48-G Amsterdam, the Netherlands t +31 (0)20 - 305 3066 www.hoogenhaak.nl |
post PO Box 76780 1070 KB Amsterdam e info@hoogenhaak.nl f +31 (0)20 - 305 3069 chamber of commerce 34314579 |
Copyright on drawings and designs that are intended to be produced and sold on a commercial scale automatically belongs to the client, unless other arrangements have been made with the designer. This is the outcome of a recent ruling of the Amsterdam Court. A remarkable outcome, because until recently everyone thought that the client only got the copyrights if a drawing/design was registered, not in case of unregistered drawings/designs.
This means that from now on it is extra important for designers/advertising agencies to make clear written agreements about the copyrights on their creative works. If not, there is a serious risk that any copyrights on objects that are meant to be produced and sold on an industrial scale automatically accrue to the client. In other words: the designers/advertising agencies risk to loose “their” copyrights.
Which works of art are drawings/designs? According to Dutch law a drawing or a model is "any industrial or handicraft item, including inter alia parts intended for a complex product should be merged, packaging, performance, graphic symbols and typographic fonts. Translated into plain English this means: objects of applied art such as tables, chairs, vases, etc. And also prints for packaging, table cloths, fabrics, etc.
Maud van der Leeuw