We just had a potential major client of ours screw us over by passing on our design presentation to another firm, who were willing to build our ideas for less. While I'm sure this sort of thing happens pretty often, it's still no fun when it happens to you...
I was told that a lot of agencies have self-destruct mechanisms built into their presentations to prevent plagiarism, in which the file deletes itself (after a certain period of time), or password protects itself or something like that. Anybody know anything about it?
The same thing happened at an previous employment.
My employer went berserk, promised that night he was going to cook up a pot of voodoo. Six months later, the building under construction fell down for lack of strong temporary bracing. My employer simply smiled. Go figure.
if they're gonna steal the idea, no mechanism will stop this,
tis better to include property credits loud and clear on the presentation and in the contract me thinks
And tickertoker (cool name) hiring a lawyer is the only thing to be done. Assuming your firm has a contract that preserves ownership rights for itself. We have some new clients asking for blanket ownership of the documents, etc. They paid for it bla bla bla. We have compromised a couple of times with some strict language about where and when they can use and indemnification.
India's not as organised as the rest of the world is. The design and construction industry is still largely unprofessional, and i guess you get the sort of clients you deserve...
I'd be surprised if my boss had signed a contract document with the dude who stole our presentation. Contract documents are still rare here, and aren't taken as seriously as they should be. Sounds crazy, i know. But thats just the way it is.
you're right about the lawyer, rayray and alpha. the problem is that India isn't as litigatious as the US of A, and our legal system is slow, cumbersome and completely clogged up. If we were to sue somebody, it would take at least 5 years to actually see the inside of a courtroom. Nad you'd be paying your lawyer fees all through that time, which would ruin you. So legal action is the right way to go, but its practical value is almost nil here.
Easier to screw your would-be client by making your Powerpoint file expire, don't you think?
hey ticker whats up
yes guys he is absolutely right about the legal/copyright system in india being a total joke.
yes, its possible to spend 10-15 years trying to sue a client and end up paying your lawyer much more than what you'd get in the end. its a waste
what id suggest is to make pdf files - acrobat 6 professional has a very advanced set of restrictions one could place on the file - like copying, printing and viewing restrictions. one could also limit the number of times a document is viewed.
although it does not restrict anyone 100% from 'stealing' a design, it surely makes it a bit difficult.
i've managed to get my hands on acrobat professional 6, and i've been screwing around with the security settings. i've figured out how to restrict printing, editing etc, but still can't set a restriction on the number of times the file is opened/viewed. any idea how? i've scanned and re-scanned the help file, but it doesn't mention anything about it...
acrobat 6 professional has a very advanced set of restrictions one could place on the file - like copying, printing and viewing restrictions. one could also limit the number of times a document is viewed.
client-gone-bad might bypass using screen captures? (but only if the this nefarious client suspects your use of a self destruction mechanism)
seen the recent news about another commercial push for shortlived DVDs?
--
what about some kind of witness? like a notary service?
self-destructing presentations
We just had a potential major client of ours screw us over by passing on our design presentation to another firm, who were willing to build our ideas for less. While I'm sure this sort of thing happens pretty often, it's still no fun when it happens to you...
I was told that a lot of agencies have self-destruct mechanisms built into their presentations to prevent plagiarism, in which the file deletes itself (after a certain period of time), or password protects itself or something like that. Anybody know anything about it?
the mechanism is called a lawyer.
your ill mannered client will implode
upon recieving a call on your behalf.
The same thing happened at an previous employment.
My employer went berserk, promised that night he was going to cook up a pot of voodoo. Six months later, the building under construction fell down for lack of strong temporary bracing. My employer simply smiled. Go figure.
if they're gonna steal the idea, no mechanism will stop this,
tis better to include property credits loud and clear on the presentation and in the contract me thinks
Where can I get a cup of that voodoo Gustav?
And tickertoker (cool name) hiring a lawyer is the only thing to be done. Assuming your firm has a contract that preserves ownership rights for itself. We have some new clients asking for blanket ownership of the documents, etc. They paid for it bla bla bla. We have compromised a couple of times with some strict language about where and when they can use and indemnification.
India's not as organised as the rest of the world is. The design and construction industry is still largely unprofessional, and i guess you get the sort of clients you deserve...
I'd be surprised if my boss had signed a contract document with the dude who stole our presentation. Contract documents are still rare here, and aren't taken as seriously as they should be. Sounds crazy, i know. But thats just the way it is.
you're right about the lawyer, rayray and alpha. the problem is that India isn't as litigatious as the US of A, and our legal system is slow, cumbersome and completely clogged up. If we were to sue somebody, it would take at least 5 years to actually see the inside of a courtroom. Nad you'd be paying your lawyer fees all through that time, which would ruin you. So legal action is the right way to go, but its practical value is almost nil here.
Easier to screw your would-be client by making your Powerpoint file expire, don't you think?
Ticker, it is common to build buildings based on 15 or 35 percent design presentations in India?
WOW.
expire this..
hey ticker whats up
yes guys he is absolutely right about the legal/copyright system in india being a total joke.
yes, its possible to spend 10-15 years trying to sue a client and end up paying your lawyer much more than what you'd get in the end. its a waste
what id suggest is to make pdf files - acrobat 6 professional has a very advanced set of restrictions one could place on the file - like copying, printing and viewing restrictions. one could also limit the number of times a document is viewed.
although it does not restrict anyone 100% from 'stealing' a design, it surely makes it a bit difficult.
yours sincerely,
doctor saheb,
i can't find you on messenger, so here goes...
i've managed to get my hands on acrobat professional 6, and i've been screwing around with the security settings. i've figured out how to restrict printing, editing etc, but still can't set a restriction on the number of times the file is opened/viewed. any idea how? i've scanned and re-scanned the help file, but it doesn't mention anything about it...
and, 90% of buildings are designed by the microsoft ppt template-designer?
client-gone-bad might bypass using screen captures? (but only if the this nefarious client suspects your use of a self destruction mechanism)
seen the recent news about another commercial push for shortlived DVDs?
--
what about some kind of witness? like a notary service?
but we hope no grunts were smashed in the collapse.
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