This is a Website legal council question:I paid 50% of the cost for a website to be designed, developed and deployed, upfront to a vendor. They failed to deliver the website under the contracted time frame. I employed another vendor to use the designs that were created under the original vendor agreement and develop and deploy the website.The original vendor is now pursuing legal grounds against me and demanding that I take my website down.All of the content and the branding are mine. The original vendor was redesigning the website. 1) Do I not have the rights to the original design?2) What legal rights can the original vendor pursue?Thank you!
Optional Information: Country relating to Question: United States State (if USA): Colorado Already Tried: Nothing. This all happened in the last 2 hours.
Thank you for the post, I am happy to assist you by answering your questions. Was there a written agreement with the original vendor whereby the vendor waived the rights to the new website redesign?
THere was no written agreement to waiving of rights. They did not deliver the site, nor did they return the 50% of the original contracted amount ($29k was paid to begin the process).I don't know how much of the design they can actually 'claim'...but they did provide it.
Thank you, XXXXX XXXXX original designer never waived the rights to the site, he/she still owns it and can enjoin your use of the same. Though the site was not delivered on time, the rights to the site design are not forfeited, your recourse would be not to take the new design of the site and allow another designer to build upon it, but to start over with a new designer and sue the original designer for breach of contract for failing to render the site in the time frame established and agreed upon. The original vendor has grounds to sue you to enjoin your use of the new design, and you have grounds to counter sue the original vendor for breach of contract. Bear in mind that the original vendor had to be afforded a reasonable period to produce the site and cure any breach (i.e. delay). If the site was to be completed by June 1st for example and on June 3rd you took the design to a new vendor the original vendor would have a very valid defense, but if you waited 30 days beyond the due date and the site was still not completed the defense would be less valid.Please let me know if you have any follow up questions.
Experience: Regularly draft and negotiate IP contracts/deals.