How can I guarantee the confidentiality of a project?
You can protect the confidentiality of a project by signing a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) through the platform. Freelancers already commit to respecting the confidentiality of all their exchanges on the platform when they agree to Malt’s T&Cs.
9.5 The Freelancer undertakes to keep strictly confidential all exchanges with Customers as well as any information communicated to them or of which they become aware when contact is made via the Marketplace (which may or may not give rise to an Assignment. Users notably undertake not to share with any third party, either privately or on social media, any exchange, information or extract from a conversation on the Website messaging service.
How are issues around copyright handled?
You can ask freelancers to specify exclusive usage or transfer of copyright and intellectual property in their legal notices at the bottom of their quote. You may also establish a third-party contract.
The wording of a copyright transfer is interpreted strictly – anything that is not expressly transferred remains the property of the freelancer.
Generally, this is discussed during the negotiation with the freelancer.
In most cases, freelancers agree to transfer the rights to their creation. Payment must be proportional to the profits from the sale or exploitation of the creation. It must be fair and equitable.
Depending on the size of the company or the scope of the project, we advise not to invoice the transfer of copyright in addition to the service provided, but for the freelancer to integrate it into their daily rate.
Transfer of copyright and intellectual property rights
A transfer of rights must imperatively define the area of exploitation of the rights transferred by specifying the following points:
Scope: The contract must list the authorized mode(s) of use (representation if a photograph is exhibited, or reproduction if it’s printed).
Destination: The use that will be made of the work (e.g., 500 copies of an A3 poster).
Location: Specify which countries the transfer of copyright is limited to (e.g., for all countries, if it involves worldwide use).
Duration: You can decide for how long copyright is transferred, without exceeding the duration of the existence of the rights to the work.
Examples
Example 1: Transfer of representation and reproduction rights relating to this creation for all countries in the exclusive context of the use and exploitation of the XXX website by the client and for the entire duration of the existence of the rights.
Example 2: Transfer of the right to reproduce the design within the European Union within the limit of 100,000 copies or a period of one year.
You can find all the information and a more general guide to customer relations on this website of the Ministry of the Economy, or consult a sample Confidentiality Agreement.