Hi,
I'm not an expert but......
I think you should get some legal advice from an IP specialist.
If they haven't paid you anything for the pictures and they don't have written permission to use them, then there should be no problem. However, I think that they could argue that as you 'gave' them the images - as a gift they would be free to use them as they wished. I think the sum you are asking for is very reasonable given the costs they could incur for rebuilding their website and reprinting brochures should you place a copyright injunction on them. It is possible that you could use an interim injunction to prevent any use of the images while your agreement with them is sorted out, however in these situations, it's usually the legal profession that wins.
I have used the threat of an injunction / court action to prevent my work from being used in the past when payment has not been made. I didn't get paid and they didn't get to use my work.
I'd be interested to see how it turns out.
regards, Kevin
I have no doubt they're just trying it on...
In my experience, it never pays to do work ' on the cheap', you don't get the respect of your clients and they don't value your work as they would a more expensive ( or professional) practitioner.
I used to charge low rates to get the work, I always had non payers, people arguing about the bills and trying to cut my rates down. Since I almost doubled my hourly rate, I have had no hagglers, no complaints, fewer debtors and longer relationships with clients. provided you can give the clients the quality of the work they want, have a professional approach and keep them informed of the progress of the projects ( and if it's bad news, find some way of mitigating the news to keep them satisfied before you bill them).
depending on the size of the client it may be worth risking a rough draft version of your own to present to them to highlight the benefits of your option versus their existing one. Don't tell them theirs is rubbish - show them what could be better and how. Regards, Kevinj
