Mary, I highly recommend you ask this question on the EmbrodieryLine list at www.embroideryline.com. The lady who owns this list (Helen Hart Momsen) has written books with this information in it, and she gets her answers from a copyright atty. There are also others who are members of her list who give seminars on this exact subject at trade shows. I am not saying people on this list do not have the correct answers, but I do know where to get the correct answers. Another list is the EmbroideryList at www.embroiderylist.com. One of the members there is Lee and Keith Caroselli who own Balboa Stitchworks. They give seminars on this subject at trade shows and are very knowledgeable on this subject. There are others, but this is 2 that I know will give you the right answers. To be quick short and sweet, unless you got a written release of intellectual property from the person who digitized the designs, the digitizer owns the intellectual property right to his design. Just because you paid him a fee to digitize it, does not mean you own the rights to or have the rights to assign it to someone else. In this case, unless you have a written release from the digitizer, you do not have the right to give this design to your client for it to be used over seas. Only the digitizer has this right. I would go to the digitizer, ask for the release of the design to you. Then you need to give a written release to your client. Now, there are other issues. These issues get into the realm of the design being a copyrighted material such as a Disney character. Your BEST option is to ask this question where I know there are people who have the knowledge to give you good answers, and to ask a local intellectual rights atty. as different states have different laws as well. I do not intend this to step on any toes in this forum, but this is a very complicated issue, and is a very serious one. The wrong answers could get someone in a heap of trouble. Jeff Banks Melco Embroidery Systems ----- Original Message ----- From: "Shuffletown Embroidery" <shuffemb@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: <NNEP-list@xxxxxx>; <amayausers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Thursday, March 23, 2006 10:50 AM Subject: [amayausers] question about design ownership >I just did a job that involved digitizing several designs (which I > outsourced) using artwork supplied by my customer and sewing up a number > of > samples in various colorways. I am satisfied with what I was paid for this > work. Up front the customer explained that they would send the designs > overseas for production. > My questions are: Who owns the designs? To what extent can I use them? > > Any experience out there on this? > > Thanks. > > > > Mary Buckle > > Shuffletown Embroidery > > Charlotte, NC > > 704-398-1273 > > > > > >