Legal Terms
All clients must read and agree to the points laid out below.
Onyx Effects will not knowingly enter into any contract whereby the other party's terms conflict with any of those set out below. Should it happen that a client's own terms and conditions conflict with any of the same set out on this page, this document shall be considered to be the authoritative one, unless a separate contract has been signed by the client and by an authorized agent of Onyx Effects. By entering into a business relationship with Onyx Effects, you (the Client) agree and consent to the following terms and conditions:
TIMEFRAME AND DELIVERY
Onyx Effects will provide the initial draft concepts to the Client within the timeframe agreed upon in the initial consultation. Please note that if we are experiencing higher than usual demand, your design will be scheduled for the next available time slot and you will be notified at the earliest possible time. Onyx Effects will post the initial designs in an email or to a web site for review by the Client. The Client will then be able to view his/her draft designs and also be able to provide feedback concerning the design.
Onyx Effects will analyze the Client's feedback and revise the designs. The revised samples will be presented to the Client within the specified timeframe. Onyx Effects will continue the revision process as per the terms of the specific contract, until Client is satisfied. Once the Client has approved the final design, the Client will complete any remaining payment owed, and Onyx Effects will then proceed with the delivery phase. All requested formats of the approved logo are then emailed or posted to the client download area for the Clients use.
COPYRIGHT / TRADEMARKS
The Client unconditionally guarantees that any element of text or graphics furnished to Onyx Effects for inclusion in the design do not infringe on any copyright or trademarks that have been already established by another company or organization. The Client will hold harmless and protect Onyx Effects from any claim or suit arising from the use of such as furnished by the client.
Onyx Effects makes every effort to produce original artwork. If, however, we create artwork for you which accidentally infringes on any existing trademarked artwork, Onyx Effects liability is limited only to a refund of the paid amount. Onyx Effects will do no research checking on the legal availability of the name we are creating designs for. It is the Client's responsibility to ensure that the name of their product, company or service is not already in use, and it is the Client's sole responsibility to secure a service mark or trademark to protect the rights to any name or image. Onyx Effects and it's employees will not be held responsible for any legal action that may result from improper due diligence on the availability of a company name or image.
Ownership of the final artwork becomes the full property of the Client, having unlimited, indefinite and unrestricted use of the design, only upon payment of all fees owing. Until the contract is paid in full, all materials remain property of Onyx Effects. Onyx Effects retains the right to display the artwork in their corporate portfolios and marketing materials. Unless otherwise arranged with your project manager, all stock photography is used under royalty-free license of Onyx Effects. As such, the Client has legal rights to use the photography only within the scope of the purchased design, and all original copyright is retained by the photographer or licensing agency. Exclusive, rights-managed photography is available, but will incur additional cost.
All concepts furnished to the client are for client review and comment purposes only. Until all project invoices are paid in full by the Client, Onyx Effects, LLC will retain exclusive copyright and ownership of all design and draft materials. Ownership of final designs are transferred to the client on payment of all fees, however unless otherwise arranged in writing, Onyx Effects retains ownership of all draft materials not used in the final design.
DRAFT CONCEPT POLICIES AND COPYRIGHT
All draft concepts previewed by the client are for client review and comment purposes only. Until final design balance is received by Onyx Effects, all logos, artwork, concepts and designs remain the copyright and exclusive property of Onyx Effects. Onyx Effects reserves the right to utilize and/or reproduce any image, logo or illustration created by Onyx Effects in advertising, electronic or traditional reproduction, with the addition of any copyright and/or trademark notice that may be requested by the owner of the work. The client is granted unlimited royalty-free use of the image upon full payment of all fees. Onyx Effects retains the rights to concepts, comprehensives and all artwork involved in the design process prior to the final artwork, and is granted the right to use these logos in promotional and advertising and marketing materials.
REVISIONS AND AUTHOR ALTERATIONS
Any and all revision requests or project additions/alterations MUST be furnished to the project manager in writing. Revisions may be discussed verbally; however no work will be done until the Client submits their revisions in writing, either by Email, Mailed Letter or Fax. The Client understands that revision work, along with requests for project additions or author alterations, will incur the same hourly billable as noted in the project quotation. Revision work is not done free of charge unless otherwise arranged, in writing.
The quotation assumes a reasonable average number of revisions per design item, but on very rare occasion a project arises in which the Client requests an unusually large number of drafts or revisions. Any and all revisions will still incur the hourly rate as noted on the project quotation, and the Client confirms that any revisions or additions they request will incur this cost.
PAYMENT POLICIES
Graphic design is a professional service, not a restockable product or commodity - customers are billed for the time and expertise of our graphic designers, art/creative directors and project managers. In accordance with industry standards, Onyx Effects charges for design services by the hour (unless a flat fee has been negotiated in writing) and does NOT offer refunds under any circumstance (except in the case of copyright infringement as noted above).
Onyx Effects does NOT engage in speculative work and will not honor any requests for same (see www.no-spec.com for more information about spec work). We have provided an extensive public portfolio, making it easy for potential clients to judge whether the style and quality of design offered by Onyx Effects is a good fit for their organization.
All quotations given are estimates only, unless otherwise negotiated and noted in writing on your quotation. Final invoices will reflect actual hours worked on your project which may or may not differ from your quotation. The final invoice will not exceed the quoted amount by a margin of over 5% without prior notification and written authorization by the client.
An upfront deposit of 50% (based on the quotation amount) is required for all new projects.
Preferred clients requiring long term and ongoing design work will be placed on a monthly billing cycle, which will allow said client to skip the quotation/deposit phase. Clients on monthly billing will be invoiced on or around the 22nd of each month. All invoices are payable on receipt, net 14 days. If the client is sending payment through the mail, we will accept a tracking number as notice of payment.
• Inactive Status
If there has been no activity initiated by the client on a project in 30 days, but the client has been responsive to status requests by the project manager, said project will be classified as “inactive”. Inactive projects are invoiced periodically throughout the fiscal year, to ensure all parties are able to keep their records up-to-date. Please note that an inactive classification has no adverse effect on your account, provided all invoices are paid on time. If your project is incomplete and you have received an inactive project invoice, please rest assured that you are being invoiced only for work actually completed to date, and that you are welcome to re-open the project at any time. Upon payment of your invoice, you will have rights to request delivery of any design files (complete, or otherwise).• Delinquent Status
After 30 days, a late payment charge of 2% per month is applied to all delinquent accounts, without exception and retroactive to the date of invoice. If the account remains in default after 60 days, we will issue one final notice before turning the account over to a third-party collections agency. Late fees will continue to accrue on your account, and you will be responsible for all costs incurred for placing you in collections. Refusing to pay your bill is theft, and we take it very seriously. If collection efforts are unsuccessful, we will engage the client in litigation to collect the debt, and all copyright will revert to Onyx Effects. In such a case, we will retain the right to repossess any and all materials created for the client. The client will have no rights to use the materials in any way, shape or form, and legal action will be taken to enforce this policy.• Abandoned Status
If a client should abandon a project by way of negligence (e.g., cutting off contact, refusing to respond to emails or phone calls), an invoice shall be issued for the full quoted amount, regardless of project status on abandonment. Abandoned projects are also subject to an accelerated collections policy, and will be submitted to a third-party collections agency if not paid or addressed within 30 days.
ONYX EFFECTS WEBSITE
Unless otherwise specified and/or credited all images, artwork, text and graphics, of this site, are the copyright of Onyx Effects. All rights reserved. All other images are the copyright and/or trademark of the respective owners.
The information presented on the Onyx Effects web site is copyrighted to Onyx Effects. This copyright does not supersede any copyrights that may exist in the logos, artwork and designs presented. These works are copyright and/or trademarked by the respective owners.
Designs, original art and clip art presented by Onyx Effects are for the use of the authorized client. All art, images, designs, and material are copyright of Onyx Effects and may not be resold, added to clip art collections or any other unauthorized form of distribution or reproduction without the express written permission of Onyx Effects and the images contained within.
All material featured on onyxeffects.com are offered for individual or commercial information only and as such are offered on a 'as is' basis. Any external use of graphic material found on the onyxeffects.com site including mirroring or copying any part of the site is prohibited without the express written consent of Onyx Effects or their authorized representatives.
PRIVACY POLICY
We respect and are committed to protecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy lets you know how your personal information is processed and used. We promise that we will take steps to use your personal information only in ways that are compatible with this Privacy Policy.
What else should I know about my privacy when online? The Onyx Effects website may contain hyperlinks to third party web sites. Onyx Effects is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such third party web sites or advertisers. We do not share any of the individual personal information you provide with the third parties to which we link. Please check with those web sites to determine their privacy policy.
Please keep in mind that whenever you disclose personal information online through e-mail, forums, discussion lists, or unsecured pages, that information can be collected and used by others. In short, IF you post personal information online that is accessible to the public, you may receive unsolicited messages from other parties in return. Ultimately, you are solely responsible for maintaining the secrecy of your personal information. Please be careful and responsible whenever you're online.
Your Consent To This Agreement
By using the Onyx Effects web site, you consent to the collection and use of information by Onyx Effects as specified above. We reserve the right to modify this policy. If we decide to change our Privacy Policy, we will post those changes on this page so that you are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances we disclose it.