Intellectual Property Policy

This policy explains who owns what at each stage of a design project: what you receive, what stays with the studio, how third-party assets are treated, and what to do if you believe your rights have been infringed. Clear ownership is one of the most valuable things a design engagement can give you, so we set it out in detail rather than leaving it to assumption.

1. Ownership Before Final Payment

All rights in every concept, draft, layout, and deliverable remain the exclusive property of Casmora Studio until your final invoice for the project has been paid in full. Before that point, you may not use, publish, reproduce, register, or authorize anyone else to use the work, in whole or in part, in any medium.

Sharing work in progress internally for review is expected and permitted. Publishing it, filing it with a registry, or putting it into commercial use before payment is not.

2. Transfer of Rights on Final Payment

Once your final payment has cleared, Casmora Studio assigns to you all of its rights, title, and interest in the final approved deliverables created specifically for your project. This includes the right to use, reproduce, modify, distribute, and display those deliverables, and to register them where the law permits, in any territory and without time limit.

The transfer takes effect automatically on payment. On request, we will sign a short written confirmation of assignment for your records at no charge.

3. What Is Not Transferred

The following remain the property of Casmora Studio and are not covered by the assignment above:

• Unselected concepts. Alternative routes, rejected directions, and exploratory work that you did not choose. We may reuse or repurpose these on other projects, provided we do not include anything confidential or identifying about your business.
• Working files and internal artifacts. Our internal component libraries, grids, scratch files, and process documents, unless the proposal expressly includes them.
• Methods and know-how. Our processes, techniques, templates, checklists, and general design knowledge, including anything we learn while carrying out your project.
• Third-party assets. Fonts, stock imagery, illustrations, and icons that are licensed rather than owned by us. These are dealt with in section 5.
• Studio branding. The Casmora Studio name, wordmark, website content, copy, and visual identity.

4. Your Materials

Everything you supply to us stays yours. Your existing logo, photographs, copy, product images, data, and brand assets remain your property at all times. By sending them to us, you grant Casmora Studio a limited, non-exclusive license to use, reproduce, and adapt those materials solely for the purpose of performing your project. That license ends when the project ends, except to the extent needed for our portfolio rights described in section 7 and for our own archival records.

5. Third-Party Assets and Licenses

Design work commonly incorporates licensed assets. A license is a permission to use something under stated conditions; it is not ownership, and we cannot transfer ownership of something we do not own.

Where your project uses a licensed typeface, stock image, illustration, or icon set, we will tell you what it is and what license is required for your intended use. Unless the proposal expressly includes the cost, the license must be purchased in your name and maintained by you. Licenses may be limited by medium, by audience size, by number of impressions, or by time. If a license lapses or its limits are exceeded, the right to keep using that asset lapses with it, and the consequences of continued use rest with you.

6. Originality of Our Work

We warrant that the work we create for you is original to us, except for any third-party assets identified under section 5. We do not copy the work of other designers, and we do not present anyone else's work as our own. Design nonetheless operates within shared visual conventions, and we cannot warrant that a design will be visually unique in the world or free from resemblance to work we have never seen.

7. Portfolio and Promotional Use

Casmora Studio retains the right to display work it has produced in its portfolio, case studies, website, and marketing materials, once that work has been publicly released by you. This is a limited right of display and does not affect your ownership.

If your project is confidential, unreleased, or subject to an embargo, tell us in writing and we will not display it. If you later want a published piece removed from our portfolio, ask us and we will remove it within a reasonable period.

8. Trademarks

Designing a mark is not the same as clearing or registering one. Unless the proposal expressly includes it, we do not perform trademark searches, clearance checks, or registration. Before you adopt or register a name or mark, engage a qualified trademark attorney. Responsibility for the availability and registrability of any mark rests with you.

9. Credit and Moral Rights

We do not require public credit as a condition of the assignment, though we always appreciate it. Where the law recognizes moral rights that cannot be assigned, we waive them to the extent permitted so that you can use, adapt, and modify the deliverables freely, without needing further permission from us.

10. Our Website Content

All content on this website, including text, layout, graphics, and the compilation of it, is owned by Casmora Studio and protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. You may view and share links to it. You may not copy, republish, or reproduce it for commercial purposes without our written permission.

11. Reporting Infringement of Your Rights

We take claims of infringement seriously. If you believe that material appearing on this website, or in work we have produced, infringes a copyright or other right that you own, send us a written notice that includes:

• Your name and the capacity in which you act, whether as the rights owner or an authorized agent.
• A clear description of the work you say has been infringed.
• The exact location of the material you are complaining about, so that we can find it.
• A statement of the basis of your claim, including any evidence of your ownership.
• A statement that the information in your notice is accurate.

We will acknowledge your notice promptly, investigate, and remove or amend material where a claim is substantiated. We may also seek clarification from you before acting.

12. Infringement of Our Work

If you become aware of someone copying, reselling, or misrepresenting work created by Casmora Studio, we would be grateful if you would tell us. We reserve all rights and remedies available to us in respect of unauthorized use of our work.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may revise this policy as our practice develops. The version that applies to a project is the version published at the time your proposal was accepted. The "Last updated" date above shows when this page was last revised.