

Graphic Artist Guild The Graphic Artist Guild is mandated by its constitution to monitor, support, and foster ethical standards in all dealings between graphic artists and buyers. This is accomplished through Guild programs for members, through cooperation with related organizations, and through legislative activity on local, state and federal levels. Tangled Spider Design Group strives to establish equitable and ethical relationships in its practices of buying and selling graphic arts and website design services. We value the accepted standards of ethics and professional conduct outlined in the Code of Fair Practice of The Joint Ethics Committee. The articles of this code relevant for our clients are reproduced below:
Article 1	Negotiations between an artist or the artist’s representative and a client should be conducted only through an authorized buyer.

Article 2	Orders or agreements between an artist or artist’s representative and buyer should be in writing and shall include the specific rights which are being transferred, the specific fee arrangement agreed to by the parties, delivery date, and a summarized description of the work.
Article 3	All changes and additions not due to the fault of the artist or artist’s representative should be billed to the buyer as an additional and separate charge.
Article 4	There should be no charges to the buyer for revisions or retakes made necessary by errors on the part of the artist or the artist’s representative.
Article 5	If work commissioned by a buyer is postponed or cancelled, a ‘kill-fee’ should be negotiated based on time allotted, effort expended and expense incurred.
Article 6	Completed work shall be paid for in full and the artwork shall be returned promptly to the artist.
Article 7	Alterations shall not be made without consulting the artist. Where alterations or retakes are necessary, the artist shall be given the opportunity of making such changes.
Article 8	The artist shall notify the buyer of any anticipated delay in delivery. Should the artist fail to keep the contract through unreasonable delay or nonconformance with agreed specifications, it will be considered a breach of contract by the artist.
Article 9	Whenever practical, the buyer of artwork shall provide the artist with samples of the reproduced artwork for self-promotion purposes.
Article 10	There shall be no undisclosed rebates, discounts, gifts, or bonuses requested by or given to buyers by the artist or representative.
Article 11	Artwork and copyright ownership are vested in the hands of the artist unless agreed to in writing. No works shall be duplicated, archived or scanned without the artist’s prior authorization.
Article 12	Original artwork, and any material object used to store a computer file containing original artwork, remains the property of the artist unless it is specifically purchased. It is distinct from the purchase of any reproduction rights. Artwork ownership, copyright ownership and ownership and rights transferred after January 1, 1978 are to be in compliance with the Federal Copyright Revision Act of 1976. All transactions shall be in writing.
Article 13	In case of copyright transfers, only specified rights are transferred. All unspecified rights remain vested with the artist. All transactions shall be in writing.
Article 14	Commissioned artwork is not to be considered as ‘work for hire’, unless agreed to in writing before work begins.
Article 15	When the price of work is based on limited use and later such work is used more extensively, the artist shall receive additional payment.
Article 16	Art or photography should not be copied for any use, including client presentation or comping without the artist’s prior authorization. If exploratory work, comprehensives, or preliminary photographs from an assignment are subsequently chosen for reproduction, the artist’s permission shall be secured and the artist shall receive fair additional payment.
Article 17	If exploratory work, comprehensives or photographs are bought from an artist with the intention or possibility that another artist will be assigned to do the finished work, this shall be in writing at the time of placing the order.
Article 18	Electronic rights are separate from traditional media and shall be separately negotiated. In the absence of a total copyright transfer or a work-for-hire agreement, the right to reproduce artwork in media not yet discovered, is subject to negotiation.
Article 19	All published illustrations and photographs should be accompanied by a line crediting the artist by name, unless otherwise agreed to in writing.
Article 20	The right to remove the artist’s name on published artwork is subject to agreement between artist and buyer.
Article 21	There shall be no plagiarism of any artwork.
Article 22	If the artist is specifically requested to produce any artwork during unreasonable working hours, fair additional remuneration shall be paid.
Article 23	All artwork or photography submitted as samples to a buyer should bear the name of the artist or artists responsible for the work. An artist shall not claim authorship of another’s work.
Article 24	All companies that receive artist portfolios, samples, etc. shall be responsible for the return of the portfolio to the artist in the same condition as received.
Article 25	An artist entering into an agreement with a representative for exclusive representation shall not accept an order from nor permit work to be shown by any other representative. Any agreement which is not intended to be exclusive should set forth the exact restrictions agreed upon between the parties.
Article 26	Severance of an association between artist and representative should be agreed to in writing. The agreement should take into consideration the length of time the parties have worked together as well as the representative’s financial contribution to any ongoing advertising or promotion. No representative should continue to show an artist’s samples after the termination of an association.
Article 27	Examples of an artist’s work furnished to a representative or submitted to a prospective buyer shall remain the property of the artist, should not be duplicated without the artist’s authorization and shall be returned promptly to the artist in good condition.
Article 28	Interpretation of the Code for the purposes of arbitration shall be in the hands of the Joint Ethics Committee or other body designated to resolve the dispute, and is subject to changes and additions at the discretion of the parent organizations through their appointed representatives on the Committee. Arbitration by the Joint Ethics Committee or other designated body shall be binding among the parties, and decisions may be entered for judgment and execution.
Article 29	Work on speculation; Contests: Artists and designers who accept speculative assignments (whether directly from a client or be entering a contest or competition) risk losing anticipated fees, expenses, and the potential opportunity to pursue other, rewarding assignments. Each artist shall decide individually whether to enter art contests or design competitions, provide free services, work on speculation, or work on a contingency basis.
Copyright © 1995 by The Joint Ethics Committee, Post Office Box Number 179, Grand Central Station, New York, NY 10017, USA. The intention of the Code is to uphold existing law and tradition and to help define an ethical standard for business practice in the graphic communications industry. Drafted in 1948, the Code was conceived to promote equity for those engaged in creating, selling, buying and using graphic arts. The Code has been used successfully since its formulation by thousands of industry professionals to create equitable relationships in the business of selling and buying art. Tangled Spider Design Group has adapted the above guidelines and their natural extensions to the electronic and website publishing environments, in its dealings with its clients

Writing for a global readership Four common errors when writing for the web Writing for your homepage Why your text might be edited Avoid CAPITALITIS Please note that Tangled Spider Design Group offer copyrighting at an hourly rate - copyrighting is not included in quotations or proposals for any project unless stated otherwise. Also, see: Resources Style Guide Back to main clients' page TSDG Wallpaper

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