First things first. PhotoshopContest holds the rights to pictures on the website. Look down at the bottom of the page.



I think that if you work for cheap or nothing, A little on the back end isn't unreasonable. Other than that, I say get your money up front and be done with it. The last thing you want to do is take someone to court for copyright/money issues. For what it's worth, This is still a small world and I'd be skeptical of hiring an artist involved in a flaky lawsuit against a former client.

First things first. PhotoshopContest holds the rights to pictures on the website. Look down at the bottom of the page.

I'm fairly certain that pertains to the use of the Adobe logos that appear on this site...not the images in the contests.

Chop on, Cheryl!

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http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html#mywork
then there is fair use...http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html
which is the part you're concerned with--
you have fair use to use the work you sold in your portfolio "LIKELY', and maybe even to display in a gallery "LIKELY" but if you have it printed up in ads(maybe), or send it out as 'media', or make a penny off of it, or give away copies free to your buddies, then you have likely infringed on the owner's rights, and would almost certainly loose against any claim they make.
Any work you were contracted to do, unless specifically contracted to give you certain rights, is the sole property of the person you did the work for.

Amswer to JD...
yes..any image you incorporate into yours from the web is likely copywrit, and you have no rights to it...unless specifically given like the images we grab for free use at SXC.
Images made from our daily source alone, combined or not combined with images you have rights to use already, are yours.
PSC has fair use rights to the images we post on this site. Possibly even including the right to sell a book full of our images without paying...or print t-shirts....
It'd be a tough case in a courtroom, but Proc definately has the right to send our images out to the media, and use for advertising.
The 'terms of use' (which I can't seem to find right now).....
DO give Proc the rights to make money of the images posted on this site since the time he took over this site. Personally if Proc could make money off anything I did, well, that'd be a compliment, and I'd be glad for it.

There was this guy who ripped off t-shirt designs from other people, sold them as his design. He is now being heavily sued, and in the cases where he's not being sued he is being roundly trashed on the net for ripping the designs. I can't think of his name but it's all over the net. He is somewhere in Florida I think

I was always told that the designs made say for a website are no longer mine once sold. I would have the ability to use the designs in a portfolio but I can't scoop them up and reuse the same ones once I've sold them to a client.

As for t-shirts designs you can print off as many as you want, and sell to to as many people as you want as it's your design. Unless as you say you have taken the ideas given to you from the client then that issue is at best a shared design. I wouldn't even try to claim it personally in that case.

If it's causing you this much anguish then don't put your work on the market.

The only part that I am having an issue with is making designs for this client that are my own ideas and selling them to her to make a profit. The rest I understand.

My thinking was you were so attached to the art that you did not want to sell it. That is why I said then don't put it on the market. I knew you understood all the other issues.

I just added the extras because it was interesting. I wish I could remember the name of the guy selling these T-shirts and making MILLIONS on other people's designs. It's a famous name brand..

That is just it. You are making income right? If Chevrolet sells a carpet guy a new truck, Do they have the right to expect profit on the carpet he installs? Maybe you should design and produce the shirts then, Sell them to her... At a profit!