PUBLISHING RIGHTS AND BRAND NAMING
1. The client acknowledges he/she has obtained all rights and permissions to publish materials to be used in the project and shall be solely responsible for the materials and the validity of copyrights, trademarks and ownership claimed by the client. Client agrees to indemnify, hold harmless and defend Simply Defined Art. and its employees from any and all libel and copyright and permission infringement action resulting from materials client provides. The book material client provides must not be a public domain work (unless client is the original author).
CONFIDENTIALITY
2. All client information and materials are considered confidential and only for use by By Simply Defined Art, to provide a quote or complete a project. Client information and project materials will not be given out or shared with any third party, unless otherwise requested by the client.
3. Simply Defined Art retains the right to use client’s name and book title on Simply Defined Art’s website and to market and promote our services.
OWNERSHIP RIGHTS
4. Upon receipt of full payment, Simply Defined Art. grants the client exclusive license to use the final cover design artwork (PDF, JPEG or other publishing-ready format) for his/her book and/or e-book cover and associated promotional materials.
5. The client understands that he/she has no right to alter the final cover design in any way except to change size for printing or digital display. If the client desires any alterations, he/she will consult Simply Defined Art. The client understands that additional payments may be required to make these alterations.
6. The client agrees to abide by the terms of any license agreement for any images purchased by, Simply Defined Art through a third-party image provider for use in client’s book cover design. The cost of cover design includes the license to use these images and is limited to a print run of 250,000 units. For books with a print run over 250,000, additional licensing fees may apply. Images used for client’s cover are royalty-free; however, the photographer owns the copyright to those photographs and they cannot be distributed in any manner other than in the book cover design.
7. Simply Defined Art retains the right to use client’s final book cover design, name, and book title in Simply Defined Art’s portfolio and to market and promote our services. Simply Defined Art retains copyright and ownership of all design and draft materials.
8. If the client supplies Simply Defined Art with materials subject to intellectual property rights by a third-party, the client will secure the appropriate rights to use the materials before directing the designer to incorporate them into his/her project. Simply Defined Art reserves the right to request a copy of secured rights. Should any intellectual property dispute arise involving materials the client provides, the client assumes full legal and financial responsibility.
ATTRIBUTION
9. Simply Defined Art requires cover design credit appear in client’s book (either on the back cover or on the copyright page) as such: “Cover Design © Jay Aheer @ Simply Defined Art”
CLIENT RESPONSIBILITIES
10. Client is fully responsible for proofing the book cover design provided by Simply Defined Art. It is strongly suggested that client requests a proof from the printer before publishing or ordering any copies of the book. At no time will Simply Defined Art be held financially or legally responsible for any problems, costs, fees or expenses incurred by client as a result of using the book cover design.
LIABILITY
11. Simply Defined Art is not liable for incidental, indirect, consequential, special, punitive, or exemplary damages of any kind, including loss of revenues or profits, loss of business or reputation, or loss of data, in any way related to our services. Simply Defined Art is not responsible for any claim, loss, or injury based on errors or any other inaccuracies appearing on our site or in our clients’ written documents, including without limitation as a result of any breach of the terms and conditions of this agreement.
PAYMENT
12. Client agrees to pay a non-refundable initial deposit of 50% of the total cost before work will begin on the project. The remaining balance is due upon approval of final book cover design or completion of manuscript editing. Simply Defined Art will not release finished files to the client or other parties until final payment has been received. The final payment is also final approval of the project, and this contract will be considered fulfilled. Simply Defined Art retains the right to discontinue, withhold, or suspend services for any account should payments not be paid for a contracted job in the order specified in this agreement.
CANCELLATION POLICY
13. The client or Simply Defined Art may cancel agreements at any time by providing written notice to the other party. If either client or Simply Defined Art cancels a project before work has started, neither the client nor Simply Defined Art is under further obligation to the other, and agreements will be considered cancelled.
14. If the client should stop or cancel a book cover design job once it has started, the client agrees to forfeit the initial 50% of the project total sum. This is to cover resources and time taken during the project up to the point of cancellation. The client will have no rights to any mockups sent to the client and agrees to destroy them. If the client should stop or cancel an editing job once it has started, the client will pay for the work completed through the date of cancellation.
PROJECT SUSPENSION
15. We sincerely request that you trust us to do the job you are paying Simply Defined Art to do. That you will take on board suggestions, and ideas, to be in your best interests. We take pride in our work and are not art-workers, therefore, any form of micro-managing, or forced art direction during the development of the project will not be tolerated.
We reserve the right to suspend any project if a client: interferes with excessive micromanaging, demonstrates a continued lack of trust and inability to move forward after showing more than a reasonable number of unique book cover ideas/concepts, and/or shows reluctance in paying the final payment.
Fair notice will be given with fair chance to remedy the situation without resorting to project suspension or termination. Any suspension, or termination, will not result in any refunds and all designs and work thus developed remain the full ownership of Simply Defined Art.
COMPLETE AGREEMENT
16. This agreement is the entire agreement of all parties. No additional promises or conditions, written or oral, apply to this agreement that are not included herein.
Updated February 2017