Intellectual Property Rights and Design Usage
1. Ownership of Intellectual Property
1.1 Custom Designs Based on Design Briefs: Where a client provides a design brief (including verbal descriptions, mood boards, style preferences, or general concepts) and Above Ground Jewellery Pty Ltd (Above Ground) develops the design, all intellectual property rights in the resulting design remain the property of Above Ground.
1.2 Client-Provided Designs: Where a client provides specific drawings, sketches, or detailed design specifications that constitute original works, the intellectual property in these original elements remains with the client. Above Ground acknowledges the client's ownership of these specific design elements.
1.3 Collaborative Designs: Where designs evolve through collaboration between Above Ground and the client, the intellectual property rights in the final design remain with Above Ground, though the specific combination of elements requested by the client will not be duplicated exactly (see Section 2).
2. Uniqueness of Custom Pieces
2.1 One-of-One Commitment: Each custom piece created by Above Ground is tailored to the individual client's specifications and the specific gemstones used.
2.2 Bespoke Calibration: Each piece is specifically calibrated to the dimensions, cut, and characteristics of the chosen gemstones, ensuring inherent uniqueness in every creation.
3. Portfolio and Marketing Usage
3.1 Photography Rights: Above Ground reserves the right to photograph all completed pieces and retain copyright of these photographs.
3.2 Portfolio Display: Above Ground may use photographs of completed pieces in our portfolio, website, social media, publications, and other marketing materials unless otherwise agreed in writing prior to the commencement of the commission.
3.3 Timing of Publication: As a courtesy to our clients, photographs of custom pieces will generally only be published after the client has received their piece (where possible).
3.4 Client Anonymity: Client identities will remain confidential unless explicit permission has been granted for identification.
4. Client Usage Rights
4.1 Personal Use: The client receives full rights to the physical piece itself for personal use, wear, and enjoyment.
4.2 Reproduction Restriction: The client may not commercially reproduce or authorize the reproduction of designs created by Above Ground, even if the design was based on client input or collaboration.
4.3 Photography by Client: Clients are welcome to photograph their pieces for personal use and social media sharing, and we appreciate acknowledgment of Above Ground when shared publicly.
5. Special Agreements
5.1 Exclusivity Agreements: Clients may request complete design exclusivity through a separate written agreement, which would prevent Above Ground from using similar design elements in future work. Such agreements will incur additional fees to compensate for the limitation on our creative repertoire.
5.2 Confidentiality Agreements: Where the Client retains the intellectual property rights of the design (see section 1.2) the Client may request that their pieces not be photographed or displayed in our portfolio through a separate written agreement prior to the commencement of work.
By commissioning a piece from Above Ground, the client acknowledges and agrees to these terms regarding intellectual property rights and design usage.