Terms and Conditions
In these conditions “the Customer” means the person, firm or
company who commissions the services of Labl Design Studio “the
Company”. By commissioning the Company to undertake work “the
project” on their behalf, the Customer agrees that these Terms and
Conditions of Trading define our working relationship. All
projects, services or goods that the Company may be contracted to
produce or provide for the Customer will be subject to the
following:
Project Fees & Contracts
The Customer may receive an estimate outlining the
project specifications and estimated fees for our time based on
our current hourly rate and, where appropriate, any goods and
professional services commissioned by us in order to complete the
project. Projects below £500 will require an upfront payment of
100% of the estimated fees. Some projects above £500 will require
an upfront cost of 50% of the estimated fees if a one-off payment
has been selected or the first instalment on the 3-month
instalment plan (if instalments apply). We will begin work upon
the Customer’s written or oral approval of the estimate and
cleared payment of any agreed upfront fees. This will constitute
an agreement between us and of the Terms and Conditions on this
page along with our Standard Contracts (Unless a specific project
contract is in place, which then usurps our Standard Contracts but
remains linked with our Terms & Conditions). The Customer
agrees to pay the Company in accordance with the terms specified
in each proposal/estimate or Invoice. Our standard payment terms
are 15 days. Estimates are valid for 30 days from the date on the
estimate. Where a written estimate is not received or necessary we
will charge for time spent on any project at our current hourly or
Daily rate (this is available upon request) once we receive the
Customer’s written or oral approval to commence work. The
Company’s charges and hourly rates are subject to change without
notice, outside of any prior agreements.
We reserve the right
without notice to charge interest on past-due balances at the
statutory rate without prior agreement as is our right* and at any
rate agreed otherwise in any contract between The Company and The
Customer. We reserve the right to refuse completion or delivery of
work until past due balances are paid. The Customer shall pay the
Company’s costs, charges and expenses directly or indirectly
incurred in obtaining or otherwise enforcing payment of
outstanding accounts. More information on *Late Payment of
Commercial Debts [Interest] Act 1998.
Revisions and alterations to work
Revisions and alterations on work requested by the
Customer and performed by the Company after a proposal/estimate
has been approved is considered a revision or alteration. If the
job changes to an extent that substantially alters the
specifications described in the original estimate, we will submit
a revised proposal/estimate to you, and a revised additional fee
must be agreed to by both parties before further work proceeds. It
is normal practice for contact reports to be issued by the
Company’s staff of meetings between the Customer and the Company.
If the subject matter of a contact report is not questioned by the
Customer within three working days of its receipt, it will be
taken to be a correct record of the meeting to which it refers.
Author’s alterations and other copy changes requested after
layouts or mechanicals are completed are billed at our standard
hourly rates.
Any files (proofs) submitted or re-submitted to
a client should always be treated ‘as new’ and fully checked. The
nature of artwork and design files means that all elements can be
connected and therefore anything can be affected by a change. Any
proofs we supply which are then signed off by the client are
expected and presumed to have been checked/read in their entirety
– unless we or the client specifically state otherwise.
Exclusion of liability
Under no circumstances shall the Company be liable
for losses special to the particular circumstances of the
Customer, indirect or consequential loss including loss of
profits, damage to property or wasted expenditure. Without
prejudice to the other provisions of these conditions, the
Company’s liability shall not exceed the total of the contract
fees for the project. The fees for any project are based on the
assumption that the liability of the Company and Customer are as
set out herein.
Nature of copy and property belonging to others
The Customer agrees to exercise due diligence in its
direction to us regarding the preparation of materials and must be
able to substantiate all claims and representations. The Customer
is responsible for all trademark, copyright and patent
infringement clearances and is responsible for arranging, prior to
publication, any necessary legal clearances, licenses, usage or
royalty payments.
Errors and omissions
It is the Customer’s responsibility to check proofs
carefully for accuracy in all respects, including but not limited
to prices, spelling, dimensions and distances. The Company is not
liable for errors or omissions. The Customer’s signature or that
of their authorised representative is required on return of all
proofs or artwork or written confirmation via e-mail prior to
release for printing or other implementation.
Technical support
We’re not a IT support company so we don’t offer
support for your PC, Desktop, Laptop or Mac, Tablet or telephone
of any variety. We will always support and advise on any service
created or offered by Labl Design Studio to the best of our
ability.
Timely communications
We will always respond to any communications directly
linked to a project within a timely manner, equally to keep the
project moving forwards, meet deadlines and not adversely affect
other client projects you should try your best to match this. If
we do not receive return communications either by email, phone or
in person within 5 working days we may take the decision to
invoice for work done so far and put your project on hold, to
allow us to focus on other clients’ projects.
Search engine optimisation (SEO)
We don’t guarantee improvements to your website’s
search engine ranking, but the web pages that we develop are
accessible to search engines and follow all current SEO standards.
We do offer SEO services in various forms and we’re happy to
provide a separate estimate for that.
Completed and outstanding projects
A design project is considered complete upon receipt
of the customer’s final approval. Other services such as web
development, printing, display production, website uploading,
website population, print production, publishing contracted on the
client’s behalf constitute a separate project and can be treated
as a separate charge. Projects that are left uncompleted by a
client for more than 1 month (30 days) without any reasonable
progression or further instruction will be invoiced. The invoiced
amount will be for the work completed thus far.
Digital
Payment Terms: Standard invoice terms are 15 days, however, the
very nature of online work means that in order for a project to
enter the public domain the code must be released, thus the
company loses overall control of it. All digital projects must be
paid for in full before code can be released unless otherwise
agreed. All website projects will require either an upfront 100%
fee, initial 50% deposit or initial 33% deposit depending on
payment plan of the agreed project cost in order to commence.
**
a ‘finished state’ is defined as a website or update that has been
fully built with all agreed pages and sections created, all design
and layout is as signed off and all features and functionality
working correctly. It does not cover content such as, but not
limited to, text or pictures to be supplied by the Customer.
Cancellation
Both parties have a right to cancel a project or
contract if the terms and conditions are adhered to. Any work
already carried out must be paid for in full unless another
agreement is made. The terms of any contract in place must be
adhered to.
Overruns and underruns
Some printers’ terms enable them to deliver over or
under the quantity ordered and to charge accordingly. In such
cases, the Customer will accept overruns or underruns that do not
exceed +/- 10% of the quantity ordered and the Company will bill
for the actual quantity delivered within this tolerance.
Property and suppliers’ performance
The Company will take all reasonable precautions to
safeguard property entrusted to us. In the absence of negligence
on our part, however, we are not responsible for loss, destruction
or damage or unauthorised use by others of such property. We will
use our best efforts to ensure the quality and timely delivery of
all printed materials. Although we may use our best efforts to
guard against any loss arising from the failure of our suppliers,
media, or others to perform in accordance with their commitments,
the Company is not responsible for failure on their part. We
cannot in any way be held responsible for quality, price,
performance or delivery of materials made or supplied by others
where the work has been placed directly by the Customer or their
agents.
Lien
All materials or property belonging to the Customer,
as well as work performed, may be retained as security until all
just claims against the Customer are satisfied.
Copyrights
First, you guarantee that all elements of text,
images or other artwork you provide are either owned by your good
selves, or that you’ve permission to use them. When you provide
text, images or other artwork to us, you agree to protect us from
any claim by a third party that we’re using their intellectual
property.
Then, when your final payment has cleared,
copyright will be automatically assigned as follows:
You’ll
own the visual elements that we create for this project. You own
all intellectual property rights of text, images, site
specification and data you provided, unless someone else owns
them.
We’ll own any intellectual property rights we’ve
developed prior to, or developed separately from this project and
not paid for by you. We’ll own the unique combination of elements
that constitutes a complete design and we’ll license its use to
you, exclusively and in perpetuity for this project only, unless
we agree otherwise. This protects us from the copying or
duplication of our design work for another party’s financial
gain.
Rights of ownership
Once a project has been delivered by us and is fully
paid for by the Customer, the Company will assign the reproduction
rights of the design for the use(s) described in the proposal or
contract. According to copyright law, the rights to all design and
artwork, including but not limited to photography, music and or
illustration created by independent photographers, artists or
illustrators retained by the Company, or purchased from a stock
agency on behalf of the Customer, remain with the individual
designer, artist, photographer or illustrator. Unless a purchase
of “All Rights” (a Buyout) is negotiated on behalf of the Company,
you may not use or reproduce the design, work or the property
therein for a purpose other than the one(s) originally stipulated.
If you wish to use the design we have created and/or the images
within it for another purpose or project, including a reprint or
exhibition, you must contact us to arrange the transfer of rights
and the payment of any additional fees before proceeding. Master
artwork including roughs, visuals, mock-ups and presentations is
the property of the Company and will not be released or copied for
the Client or any third party to use in any way whatsoever without
prior written agreement by a director of the Company. We reserve
the right to photograph and/or distribute or publish for the
company’s promotional and marketing needs any work we create for
you, including roughs, visuals, mock-ups and presentations, as
samples for our portfolio, newsletter, brochures, presentations
and website and for entry for awards. We will endeavour to store
files on computer disks for a period of 6 months beyond the
delivery of a job. Thereupon, we reserve the right to discard them
without notice.
Preliminary Works
Labl Design Studio retains all rights in and to all
initial designs. Preliminary Designs shall remain the exclusive
property of Labl Design Studio.
Limitation
The Customer will indemnify and hold the Company
harmless for any loss or expense (including legal fees), and agree
to defend the Company in any actual lawsuit, claim or action
arising in any way from our working relationship. This includes,
but is not limited to claims made against the Customer and any of
its products and services arising from the publication of
materials that we prepare and the customer approves before
publication.
Force majeure
Production schedules, storage of files and property
belonging to the Client will be established and adhered to by both
Customer and the Company, provided that neither shall incur any
liability, penalty or additional cost due to delays caused by a
state of war, riot, civil disorder, fire, industrial dispute or
strike, accidents, energy failure, equipment breakdown, delays in
shipment by suppliers or carriers, action of government or civil
authority, and acts of God or other causes beyond the control of
the Customer or the Company. Where production schedules are not
adhered to by the Customer, final delivery date or dates will be
adjusted accordingly.
General
The validity and enforceability of this agreement
will be interpreted in accordance with the laws of England but the
Company reserves the right to bring proceedings in connection with
this contract in any other court of competent jurisdiction.
Failure by the Company to enforce any of these conditions shall
not be construed as a waiver of that condition or any other
condition.
Privacy Policy
The company adheres to the Data Protection Act 1998,
the only data we collect from you is freely given and relevant to
us to enable the company to perform our work for you. We use
advanced technologies to safeguard your data and keep strict
security standards to prevent any unauthorised access to it. We do
not pass on your details to any third party unless you give us
permission to do so, or we are obliged or permitted by law to
disclose it.