Guides to Copyright for designers
In What Cases Might A Designer Use a Copyright Agreement?
What kind of Copyright Agreement is best suited for you?
Two of the most common Copyright Agreements are the CLA (Copyright License Agreement) and the CTA (Copyright Transfer Agreement). Simply said, a CTA transfers the Copyrights from the designer to another entity. A CLA transfers some rights to another entity, the contents of the agreement are fully customizable. That makes it customizable for almost all cases.
Ongoing & Recurring Projects
A CLA might be better for ongoing projects where you want to retain some flexibility and control. You keep ownership of the design while granting specific usage rights to the client for defined purposes.
Licensing Specific Uses
When a client only needs your design for a particular campaign, platform, or time period, a CLA lets you license exactly those rights without giving everything away.
Discuss this with your client before the project starts. Understand whether the client is looking for permanent ownership or if they only need specific usage rights for a limited time.
Full Buyout / Work for Hire
A CTA is more suited to one-off projects where you're comfortable giving full rights to the client — for example, a company commissioning exclusive branding artwork or a logo they want to fully own.
For designers, there is not really a general answer. It depends on what the client needs and what rights you are willing to sell. When in doubt, default to a CLA — it is always safer to license specific rights than to transfer them all.
Where can it be distributed? Specifically geographically and online. Define how your designs can be used. Set clear terms in contracts to protect against unauthorized reproductions. Do they get the right to resell? Can they modify it? Is it for a specific project? In the case of product design, who gets the patent?
The agreements on OONOO are highly customizable and allow you to fill in empty spaces in an agreement template. Answer the following prompts with your terms. First decide if you need a Copyright License Agreement, or a Copyright Transfer Agreement. A Copyright Transfer Agreement transfers all rights to the other party. If you wish to retain some or most rights, a Copyright License Agreement might be a better fit for you.