All the client needs to say is he thought it up and you are stuffed.
No they can't say that
Oh Yes They Can.
Oh No They Can't (there done it for you so no need to repeat)
, as they have a dated design drawing from me - which is the crux of copyright. The client did not come up with the idea or design
All that proves is you drew it before he did.
Doesn't prove who came up with the idea.
As for losses?
....................
A claim for damages is intended to put the claimant (me) back into the position I would have been had the infringement not occurred
Yes, and you have to mitigate your losses
- ie the money I could have got for doing the job.
No, you were right the first time, it's the position you would have been in had they not nicked your design.
That's not the money you could have got for doing the job, it will be substantially (and I mean substantially) less. You never got the job, do you have a contract that shows you did, written would be nice. you might claim for the value of your plans so you will need to show how much you have charged for plans in the past, or if you haven't done this, how much your peers would generally charge.
For example, I've just paid a guy £325 for plans, structural calcs, building control liasing and planning dept liasing. So take that as a starting position and reduce significantly. Maybe you can get more.....
if you agreed to draw plans for, lets say £325, and you did so and they fail to pay, then invoice and see what happens. Did you agree that?
If you feel you can claim for the money you might have made on that job then you need to show you have mitigated your losses by getting another job. You cannot just sit on your backside and hope the money comes in... That might mean doing a job for less than your usual rate.....
But there can be punitive damages as a sanction for flagrant infringement too. Which I like the sound of
Dream On.
Loads of lawyers out there will give you a free phone call. Report back on what they say. Just trying to help.
