Payment

Deposits, final payments, and delivery

I reserve the right to request a full payment or a 50% deposit before 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 forwarding deposit funds you are accepting these Terms of Service and entering a contract with Michelle Vine Walters + CO. 

I will invoice for the remaining cost of the project and associated services prior to the release of any logo, brand files, or final exports. I reserve the right to withhold delivery until payment has been received in full.

I reserve the right to invoice prior to the time detailed if you have been unresponsive for more than 30 days.

You may reserve the right to request a payment plan which may be accepted at my discretion. All payment plans must be agreed to by both parties in writing.

All payments are to be made within 30 days of the invoice issue date.

I reserve the right to charge you for any fees incurred relating to initiating the collection and recovery processes for accounts that remain unpaid for more than 30 days.

Ownership & Copyright

All preparation materials, sketches, and visuals, including the electronic files used to create the project, remain the property of Michelle Vine Walters + CO. The final artwork and exports/digital files will become your property ONLY upon full payment of the project. 

If final payment is NOT received as agreed, all designs and concepts will remain the property of Michelle Vine Walters + CO. until FULL payment is received.

If there are issues with final payment, I reserve the right to reuse or amend any of these ideas for other clients, or to be used freely as concepts in my portfolio. 

Should the client attempt to use/modify/alter/replicate or steal any of my ideas without making the agreed full payment, I will take immediate legal course.

Michelle Vine Walters + CO. 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 requests or NDA requirements, please make them known before agreeing to this proposal.

Final payment ensures that ONLY the agreed logo design becomes your property. Any previous ideas/concepts remain the property of Michelle Vine Walters + CO. unless any prior agreement has been made.

Cancellation

Cancellation during the project

If you choose to cancel the project midway through, where designs and proposals have been submitted, a refund of the previous payment is not possible. However, depending on the work completed and the overall budget, a portion of the funds may be returned.

If I  am 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 works, so far completed, 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

I reserve the right to suspend any project if I deem the client is not a good fit. This may include but is not limited to excessive micromanaging; a continued lack of cooperation; dissatisfaction with project outcomes after showing more than a reasonable number of revisions and unique concepts, and/or reluctance to uphold payment agreements.

Appropriate notice will be given with a chance to remedy the situation. Suspension or termination of the project will be a final resort. Any suspension, or termination, will not result in any refunds, and all designs and work developed will remain in the full ownership of Michelle Vine Walters + CO.

Force Majeure

In the event I fail to perform any obligation under these Terms & Conditions due to a natural disaster, an act of any government, political incident, any deficiency (global or national) in materials or transportation, or impact of any nature beyond my control, such failure shall not be deemed as a breach of these Terms & Conditions, provided that you are notified of the existence and nature of the reason for my non-performance and delay, and I resume performance immediately upon the conclusion of the relevant force majeure.

Limitation of liability

Loss or damage

You agree and accept that Michelle Vine Walters + CO. is not legally responsible for any loss or damage suffered or incurred of any kind resulting or arising from including but not limited to; direct, indirect, incidental, special, negligent, consequential, or exemplary damages happening from the use or misuse of the MVW+CO. products or services. The client agrees that using these services is at the user’s own risk. This includes using or relying on third-party content, links, comments, or advertisements. Your use of, or reliance on, any information or materials I produce, amends, or designs is entirely at your own risk, for which I shall not be liable.

You acknowledge that such information and materials may contain inaccuracies or errors and expressly exclude liability of Michelle Vine Walters + CO. for any such inaccuracies or errors to the fullest extent permitted by law.

I affirm that all designs I present to you will be original and to the best of my knowledge will not infringe/plagiarise any other work. I will perform limited checks to ensure that my work has not unintentionally infringed on another’s design, including limited checks against the WIPO database and reverse image checks across search engines. However, I assume no legal responsibility for any loss or damage suffered or incurred related to legal issues regarding the originality or authenticity of my work. You agree to perform your own checks and due diligence regarding plagiarism and originality. Should you have any concerns, please discuss this item with me prior to moving forward. 

Restrictions

Restrictions to the signing of this agreement 

These Terms & Conditions do not give you the rights or permission to use; modify; alter; replicate; or borrow any of the previous ideas; concepts; or sketches that I present. All original preparation materials, sketches, visuals, and unused ideas shown and considered will remain the property of Michell Vine Walters + CO.

I am free to use these unused and previous ideas for future conceptual and client work. Where a previously unused idea/design retains a similar look and style to the finished logo, I shall repurpose and style so that the end design is sufficiently different so as not to cause conflict.

Unless otherwise agreed and arranged, I reserve the right to showcase the finished logo and associated designs in my portfolio and any other online galleries, portfolio, showcases, awards, and printed publications now or in the future. Associated designs and artwork can include commercial print, web and mobile design, signage, gaming icons, desktop and mobile applications, and other imagery.

ANY supporting artwork and designs required by this project can be used as indicated by myself for personal and professional reasons.

You are welcome to modify or change the finished logo design as you see fit, but you do so at your own risk.

Fonts & Typefaces

Licensing of any used fonts or typefaces

Any fonts/typefaces that are purchased for the final logo, website design and/or supporting brand style scapes assets, are subject to commercial licensing laws. A font/typeface license gives only the owner full rights to use the font/typeface as necessary.

In my initial presentation of concepts, I 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 licenses (paid or unpaid), so please keep this in mind when approving designs.

It is against the law for me to provide any client a ‘copy’ of any font/typeface that I own, and have personally purchased. 

If you would like to use a copy of a font/typeface that I have purchased, to be used commercially, you must purchase the respective font/typeface license, 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 print materials, then you will need your license through a desktop license purchase.

Brand Naming

You take full responsibility for ensuring that your company/product/name/brand is legally free or available before work is started. Should any legal issue arise with the naming after the project has been completed, no refunds are possible, neither am I legally responsible for any problems that may arise.

Please ensure the name you are using is free and legally safe to use before committing to a logo or brand design project. Project name changes during a project are exceptionally costly, challenging to implement, and cause significant delays. 

If a change of name is required mid-way through a project, and significant design work has already been presented, then I will have no choice but to reevaluate 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, business name, etc.

Trademark & Copyright

Due to the lengthy and often costly procedures required to initiate any form of Trademark, Copyright, and legal name search, I am unable to provide this service. 

If you require a registered trademark, please seek your own legal advice.