Payment
Deposits, final payments and delivery
We reserve the right to request a 50% deposit prior to starting work on your project. If a deposit is requested, an invoice will be generated and delivered to you via email and payment is expected within 30 days of issue. By remitting deposit funds you are accepting these Terms of Service and entering a contract with Studio Hitchcock.
We will invoice for the remaining cost of the project and associated services prior to the release of any logo files or final exports. We reserve the right to withhold delivery until payment has been received in full.
We reserve the right to invoice prior to the time detailed if you have been uncontactable or unresponsive for more than 30 days.
You reserve the right to request a payment plan which may be accepted at our discretion. All payment plans must be agreed to by both parties in writing.
All payments are to be made within 30 days of issue.
We reserve the right to charge you for any fees incurred relating to commencement of collection and recovery processes for accounts that remain unpaid in excess of 30 days.
Typefaces
Licensing of any used fonts or typefaces
Any fonts or typefaces that are purchased for the final design and/or supporting brand identity assets are subject to commercial licensing laws. A font or typeface licence gives only the owner full rights to use the font or typeface as necessary.
In our initial presentation of concepts, we will provide information on the typefaces used and where they can be acquired. It is the responsibility of the client to acquire any necessary font licences (paid or unpaid), so please bear this in mind when approving designs.
It is against the law for us to provide any client with a copy of any font or typeface that we own and have personally purchased.
If you would like to use a copy of a font or typeface that we have purchased for commercial use, you must purchase the respective font or typeface licence and register it in your name.
Typically, a font used in a logo will not need to be licensed, as the graphics are converted to vector artwork and can no longer be edited. However, should you require a font to use in your own artwork for editing purposes, such as on a website or a print presentation, then you will need your own licence through a desktop licence purchase.
Restrictions
Restrictions to the signing of this agreement
These Terms of Service do not give you the rights or permission to use, modify, alter, replicate or borrow any of the previous ideas, concepts or sketches that we present. All original preparation materials, sketches, visuals and unused ideas shown and considered will remain the property of Studio Hitchcock.
We are free to use these unused and previous ideas for future conceptual and client work. Where a previously unused idea or design retains a similar look and style to the finished logo, we shall repurpose and style it so that the end design is sufficiently different as to not cause conflict.
Unless otherwise agreed and arranged, we reserve the right to showcase the finished logo and associated designs in our portfolio and in any number of online galleries, portfolios, showcases or awards, as well as in printed literature including books and magazines, now and in the future. Associated designs and artwork can include commercial print design, business card, stationery design, signage, desktop icons, mobile phone and other portable device application icons and imagery.
Any supporting artwork and designs required by this project can be used by us as indicated for personal and professional reasons.
You are free to change, modify and adapt the finished logo design as you see fit, but you do so at your own risk.
Ownership & Copyright
All preparation materials, sketches, visuals, including the electronic files used to create the project, remain the property of Studio Hitchcock. The final artwork and digital files will become your property only upon final payment of the project.
If final payment is not received as agreed, all designs and concepts will remain the property of Studio Hitchcock until payment is received.
If there are issues with final payment, we reserve the right to reuse or amend any of these ideas for other clients, or to use them freely as concepts in our portfolio.
Should the client attempt to use, modify, alter, replicate or steal any of our ideas without making the agreed final payment, we will take immediate legal counsel.
Studio Hitchcock reserves the right to show any artwork, ideas or sketches created for this project in a portfolio as examples of client work. This is typically, but not limited to, the completion of the project. If you have any specific secrecy, stealth mode or NDA requirements, please mention this before agreeing to the proposal.
Final payment ensures that only the agreed logo design becomes your property. Any previous ideas or concepts remain ours, unless any prior agreement has been made.
Trademark & Copyright
Due to the lengthy and often costly procedures required to initiate any form of trademark, copyright and legal name search, we are unable to provide any practical help with this.
If you require the logo to be registered as a trademark, then you must seek your own legal advice.
Brand Naming
You take full responsibility for ensuring that your company, product or name is legally free and available before work is started. Should any legal issue arise with the naming after the project has been completed, no refunds are possible, nor are we legally responsible for any problems arising.
Please ensure the name you are using is free and legally safe to use before committing to a logo project. Project name changes during a project are exceptionally costly, challenging to implement and cause significant delays.
If a change of name is required midway through a project, and significant logo exploration work has already been presented, then we will have no choice but to recalculate the total cost of the project to allow for the reworking involved. Please ensure that the name you are using has been subject to appropriate checks, is not in use by someone else, and does not infringe on any other registered trademark or business name.
Cancellation
Cancellation during the project
If you choose to cancel the project midway through, where ideas and proposals have been submitted, a refund of previous payments is not possible. However, depending on the work completed and overall budget, a portion of the funds may be returned.
If we fall ill or are unable to complete the project due to unforeseen circumstances, a portion of the overall budget will be returned. In most cases the complete amount will be refunded. If any work completed so far can be used for another designer to pick up, then a percentage will be refunded based on work completed, or any other reasonable suggestion will be considered.
Project Suspension
We reserve the right to suspend any project if there is interference through excessive micromanaging, a demonstrated continued lack of trust, an inability to move forward after showing more than a reasonable number of unique design ideas or concepts, and/or a reluctance to pay the final invoice.
Fair notice will be given with a reasonable opportunity to remedy the situation before resorting to project suspension or termination. Any suspension or termination will not result in any refunds, and all designs and work developed remain the full ownership of Studio Hitchcock.
Force Majeure
In the event that we fail to perform any obligation pursuant to these Terms of Service due to an act of God, an act of government, terrorism, riot, war, accident, deficiency in materials or transportation, or any other cause beyond our reasonable control, such failure shall not be deemed to be a breach of these Terms of Service, provided that you are notified of the existence and nature of the reason for our non-performance and delay, and we resume performance as soon as reasonably practicable following the conclusion of the relevant force majeure event.
Limitation of Liability
Loss or damage
You agree and accept that Studio Hitchcock is not legally responsible for any loss or damage suffered or incurred related to the use of any of our services, whether arising from amendments, errors or omissions in documents, designs, information or any goods or services offered by us. This includes your use of or reliance on any third-party content, links, comments or advertisements. Your use of, or reliance on, any information or materials we produce, amend or design is entirely at your own risk, for which we shall not be liable.
You acknowledge that such information and materials may contain inaccuracies or errors and expressly exclude the liability of Studio Hitchcock for any such inaccuracies or errors to the fullest extent permitted by law.
We affirm that all designs presented to you will be original and, to the best of our knowledge, will not infringe or plagiarise any other work. We will perform limited checks to ensure that our work has not unintentionally infringed another design, including limited checks against the WIPO database and reverse image searches across search engines. However, we assume no legal responsibility for any loss or damage suffered or incurred relating to legal issues regarding the originality or authenticity of our work. You agree to perform your own checks and due diligence regarding plagiarism and originality. Should you have any concerns, please discuss this with us prior to commencing work.
