An overview of legal issues particular to designers and those working in the creative industries as freelancers or small business owners.

1. For Designers & Creatives

2. Get It InWriting
 Contracts
 Terms
 Scope of work
 Work for Hire
 Limited Usage
 Length of work
 Partnerships

3. Work for Hire
 In cases of works made for hire, the employer or
commissioning party is considered to be the author.
 Unless otherwise specified in a contract, the graphic
designer retains the right to his or her creations, and
should always attempt to do so.
 Copyright laws protect against additional use without
proper compensation or agreement.

4. Payment
 Set or ask for the terms of payment
 Rate
 When will I be paid?
 What Form of Payment?
 Invoice
 Demand Letter
 Small Claims Court

5. What is Intellectual Property?
 Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind,
such as inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; and
symbols, names and images used in commerce.
 The law protects IP in the form of patents,
copyright, and trademarks, which enable people to earn
recognition or financial benefit from what they invent or
create.

6. Copyright
 A copyright protects works of authorship, such as writings,
music, and works of art that have been tangibly expressed.
 Under the copyright law, the creator of the original
expression in a work is its author.
 The author is also the owner of copyright unless there is a
written agreement by which the author assigns the
copyright to another person or entity, such as a publisher.

7. Trademark
 A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol or design, or a
combination thereof, which identifies and distinguishes
the source of the goods of one party from those of others.
 A service mark is a word, phrase, symbol or design, or a
combination thereof, which identifies and distinguishes
the source of a service rather than goods.The term
“trademark” is often used to refer to both trademarks and
service marks.

8. PopularTrademarks

9. Patents
 A patent is an intellectual property right granted by the
U.S.P.TO. to an inventor for a limited time in exchange for
public disclosure of the invention when the patent is
granted.
 The two most common patents are:
 Utility patents: granted to anyone who invents or discovers
any new and useful process, machine, article of manufacture,
or composition of matter, or any new and useful
improvement thereof.
 Design patents: granted to anyone who invents a new,
original, and ornamental design for an article of
manufacture.

10. Corporations
 A corporation is a legal entity, chartered by a state or the
federal government, and separate and distinct from the
persons who own it.
 Limited liability; owners can only lose what they invest.
 Easy transfer of ownership through the sale of shares of
stock.
 Continuity of existence.

11. Types of Corporations
 NewYork Corporations
 C Corporation
 S Corporation
 B Corporation
 Limited Liability Company (LLC)

12. Corporate Differences
C Corporation S Corporation B
Corporation
LLC
Ownership Unlimited 75 or less Varies Unlimited
Formation Filing of
Articles
Filing of
Articles
Filing of
Articles
Filing of
Articles +
Publication
Cost $125 +Tax on
Shares
$125 +Tax on
Shares
$75 $200
Requirements Quarterly
meetings and
minutes.
Quarterly
meetings and
minutes.
Same plus
General Public
Benefit
Publication
once a week
for six weeks
Taxation Double Partnership Double or
Partnership
Partnership
unless only
one member

13. Q&A

14. Contact
Khari Parson, Esq.
khari@khariparson.com
@khariparson