Explanation to client (was Copying web sites)

Copyright information and such is a very sticky thing to deal with, and
unfortunately people can use ignorance of laws to further their business or
at least stanglehold the clients they already have.   

Let me present this scenario to you:

Company XYZ wants a web site and has company ABC to design it.  (NOTE:
These are fictional names here.)   After a year or two on the web, Company
XYZ decides that their site doesn't work, it isn't what they expected . . .
whatever.   They want to move onward and upward with another company --
we'll call them DEF.  DEF is redesigning the site, but the products of
company XYZ were given to company ABC and scanned for the site.  Does
company DEF have to get permission from company ABC for the graphics?   Do
the scans belong to ABC just because they took XYZ's product photos and
reduced them and dropped them into a site?  There are some interesting
issues here, but the biggest issue is the proper explanation to the client.
 Company XYZ hired company ABC to do a site, but they didn't realize that
you don't just hire a company and get everything given to you
automatically.  Company ABC can specify that they are a "Work Made For
Hire" (see Ivan Hoffman's site for more info --
http://www.ivanhoffman.com/website.html).  By not educating a client on
what this means, Company ABC has effectively enslaved company XYZ to either
get all their changes from them, or to have company XYZ throw all the money
they spent on a site out the door.

The problem here is the education of people (clients) on these subjects,
and the companies that use the law to hide behind it.  Is it bad to
verbosely copy a site? -- yes.  Graphics? -- ditto.  (Fair use is another
matter altogether.)

Unfortunately we see a lot of companies that are left with tons of expenses
and nothing more to show from it than a faded memory of a site.  Luckily
the sites we've been picking up didn't want anything to do with their
original site anyway, so this isn't always a problem.  For a large
e-commerce site with hundreds of photos, this could be an issue.   

Any thoughts or ideas?   We make it clear to our clients exactly what
copyrights can and can't do, and we've never had a problem when other
companies have taken over a site -- they have paid fair and square for the
work we did and we will not hold a "copyright ball-and-chain" around their
neck.  


Bradley Miller, Programmer/webmaster
AccessZone Design - www.accesszonedesign.com
Blue Springs, Missouri office
Phone: 816-228-3814		Fax: 559-663-4046
Toll-free: 888-872-4420	ICQ: 48555780 

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