QUESTION
Ownership of Artwork and Designs
Asked on Apr 18th, 2015 on Intellectual Property - California
More details to this question:
I co-founded a clothing company with a friend, He paid for a llc, and did a trademark for the name of the company, though while in the process of trademarking i was still creating the logo. We never got down to signing paperwork(I know i tried-he didn't want to, the reason why i'm leaving) He now tells me that the artwork I've created as designs and the company logo are his property under the company. I never once transferred rights over to him. Basically I've shown him what designs could look like and never sent him the finalized copies of the designs. He now starts saying that he can file a lawsuit to take authority of my artwork. I've worked hard for my designs and wont allow them to be used without my consent.
1 ANSWER
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I suggest you settle this matter as efficiently as possible and move on to another business. The logo (or a trademark consisting of words) is one of the most over-rated parts of a startup. People buy design, quality, price and business model of distribution, not cute names or logos.
If you fight you should have a budget. I know you put a lot of effort and time and talent into the logo, and should get "something" but the value is in the eye of the person willing to pay for it. You could spend 10s of thousands of dollars in legal fees and end up with a logo that you cannot sell to any third party for various reasons including lack of interest.
There is a big difference between being a clothing designer and designing a logo. The best advice I ever gave my biggest clothing client was not to sue his old company for claiming he wasn't the clothing designer but instead to that that time and money, start his own company, and prove it in the marketplace. He did.
Answered on Apr 20th, 2015 at 10:30 AM