Design Services Agreement
Agreement made on the _____ day of _____________________________, 20____,
between __________________________________ (Name of Designer) of _________________
______________________________________________________________________________
(street address, city, county, state, zip code) , referred to herein as Designer , and _____________
_____________________ (Name of Customer) of ____________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
(street address, city, county, state, zip code) , referred to herein as Customer .
Whereas, Designer designs residential kitchens, specializing in cabinet design ; and
Whereas, Customer desires to hire Designer for the Project described in Paragraph 1
below;
Now, therefore, in consideration of the matters described above, and of the mutual
benefits and obligations set forth in this Agreement, and other good and valuable consideration,
the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, the parties agree as follows:
1. Services to be Performed
Designer shall perform the design work described as follows: (Describe design work to
be done) _____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________ .
2. Additional Editing and Changes
Any requested changes to the initial design of the Project shall constitute additional
editing and incur additional charges or fees. While Designer will not charge an additional fee
for one revision by Customer of the original design, any additional changes must be
submitted and approved by both parties in writing on an approved contract change form.
3. Delivery of Project
Designer will use all reasonable efforts in the development of the Project and endeavor to
complete and deliver to Customer all files and materials related to the Project no later than
______ (number) days after the delivery date, which shall be ______ (number) days after the
Start Date (see Exhibit A) of this Agreement, provided that payment and all requested
instructions and material have been received by Designer from Customer. Any delay in the
completion of the Project due to actions or negligence of Customer, transportation delays,
illness, or circumstances outside the control of Designer may alter the delivery date. Designer
will make reasonable effort to notify Customer of any delays to the estimated delivery date as
soon as possible.
4. Reproduction of Project
A. Upon successful completion of all compensation terms and outstanding balances
owed to Designer , both Designer and Customer shall have full and unlimited
reproduction rights to the Project.
B. Customer may not reproduce or otherwise use design mock-ups, drafts, sketches
etc., created by Designer during work on the Project but not included into the final
version of the Project . Such artwork belongs solely to Designer who may use it at his
own discretion.
5. Ownership of Artwork and Source Files
Except for Customer's Proprietary Material ( defined below) contained in the Project,
Designer shall hold all right, title, and interest in all original artwork, whether in draft, mock-up,
concept or final development for the Project . Specifically, but without limitation, Designer shall
hold all right, title, and interest in and to the following:
A. All text, graphics or digital components of the Project (the Content ),
B. All layouts, logos, structures or arrangements or other components of any
materials presented to Customer that comprises the Project,
C. All literal and non literal expressions of ideas that operate, cause, create, direct,
manipulate, access, or otherwise affect the Content, and
D. All copyrights, patents, trade secrets, and other intellectual or industrial property
rights in the Project or any component or characteristic thereof.
Customer shall not do anything that may infringe upon or in any way undermine Designer's
right, title, and interest in the Project, as described in this Paragraph 5. Notwithstanding the
above, Customer shall retain and, Designer shall have no proprietary rights whatsoever in
Customer's intellectual property rights in any and all text, images or other components and/or
materials owned by Customer, or which Customer has the legal right to use, that are delivered to
Designer , including but not limited to software, related documentation, Customer marketing
material, logos, and tag lines ( Customer's Proprietary Material ). Designer agree that he shall not
use Customer's Proprietary Material for any other purpose than those expressly set forth in this
Agreement.
5. Compensation
In return for the Project that is completed and delivered under this Agreement, Customer
shall compensate Designer , pursuant to the terms of Exhibit A attached hereto. [n the event
Customer fails to make any of the payments referenced in Exhibit A by the deadline set forth in
Exhibit A, Designer has the right, but is not obligated, to pursue any or all of the following
remedies:
A. Terminate the Agreement,
B. Withhold all files, artwork, source, commitments or any other service to be
performed by Designer for Customer, and/or
C. Bring legal action.
Customer is fully responsible for all material costs as outlined in Exhibit A, and accepts
responsibility for all additional material costs that Designer may incur in the development of this
Project.
6. Confidentiality
Customer and Designer acknowledge and agree that the Project and all other documents
and information related to the development of the Project, excluding however, Customer's
Proprietary Material, (the Confidential Information ) will constitute valuable trade secrets of
Designer . Customer shall keep the Confidential Information in confidence and shall not, at any
time during or after the term of this Agreement, without Designer's prior written consent,
disclose or otherwise make available to anyone, either directly or indirectly, all or any part of the
Confidential Information.
7. Limited Warranty and Limitation on Damages
Designer warrants the Project will conform to the Project in accordance with the plans
and instruction originally given to Designer. If the Project does not conform to the Project as
aforesaid, Designer shall only be responsible to make one attempt in good faith to bring the
Project into conformance at Designer ' sole expense and without charge to Customer , This
warranty shall be the exclusive warranty available to Customer . Customer waives any other
warranty, express or implied. Customer acknowledges that Designer is not responsible for fixing
any problems, errors or omissions on the Project , once mass produced or after Customer has
tested, proofed and approved the Project . Except as otherwise expressly stated herein, Customer
waives any claim for damages, direct or indirect, and agrees that its sole and exclusive remedy
for damages (either in contract or tort) is the return of the consideration paid to Designer as set
forth in Exhibit A attached hereto. This limited warranty shall become void and expire 60 days
after the delivery of the Project by Designer . Under no circumstances shall Designer be liable
for any consequential damages.
8. Independent Contractor
Designer is retained as an independent contractor. Designer will be fully responsible for
payment of his own income taxes on all compensation earned under this Agreement. Customer
will not withhold or pay any income tax, social security tax, or any other payroll taxes on
Designers ' behalf. Designer understands that he will not be entitled to any fringe benefits that
Customer provides for its employees generally or to any statutory employment benefits,
including without limitation worker's compensation or unemployment insurance.
9. Availability of Materials, Logos, Graphics and other Collateral
Customer agrees to make available to Designer , for Designer ' use in performing the
services required by this Agreement, such materials as Customer and Designer may agree in
writing for such purpose. Failure to provide Designer with Materials in the requested formats
may result in additional delays or fees in addition to those stated in Exhibit A.
10. Right to Remove Project
In the event Customer fails to make any of the payments set forth on Exhibit A within
the time prescribed in Exhibit A, Designer has the right to immediately cease all work on the
Project until payment in full is paid.
11. Indemnification
Customer warrants that everything it gives or instructs Designer to include in the Project
is legally owned or licensed to Customer . Customer agrees to indemnify and hold Designer
harmless from any and all claims brought by any third-party relating to Customer's Proprietary
Material provided by Customer to Designer including any and all demands, liabilities, losses,
reasonable associated costs and claims including reasonable attorney's fees arising out of injury
caused by Customer's Proprietary Material supplied by Customer to Designer , copyright
infringement, and defective products sold as a result of Customer 's distribution of the Project .
12. Use of Project for Promotional Purposes
Customer acknowledges that Designer retains the right to use the Project for promotional
purposes and/or to cross-link it with other marketing venues developed by Designer .
13. Right to Style or to Make Derivative Works
Subject to Section 4 above, Designer has the exclusive rights in making any derivative
similar works of the Project and any similarities between Customer 's Project and future Project s
constitutes Designer's methods and style and shall remain the right of Designer .
14. Trademarks, Logos and other Intellectual Property Issues
Customer is responsible for any Copyright or Trademark issues related to the
creation and use of Project files by Customer . Customer shall be solely responsible for any
Trademark or Copyright searches pertaining to the Project unless otherwise contracted for
in the Project . Designer will not knowingly copy other rightfully trademarked or
copyrighted material.
15. No Waiver
The failure of either party to this Agreement to insist upon the performance of any of the
terms and conditions of this Agreement, or the waiver of any breach of any of the terms and
conditions of this Agreement, shall not be construed as subsequently waiving any such terms and
conditions, but the same shall continue and remain in full force and effect as if no such
forbearance or waiver had occurred.
16. Governing Law
This Agreement shall be governed by, construed, and enforced in accordance with the
laws of the State of ______________________.
17. Notices
Any notice provided for or concerning this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be
deemed sufficiently given when sent by certified or registered mail if sent to the respective
address of each party as set forth at the beginning of this Agreement.
18 . Mandatory Arbitration
Any dispute under this Agreement shall be required to be resolved by binding arbitration
of the parties hereto. If the parties cannot agree on an arbitrator, each party shall select one
arbitrator and both arbitrators shall then select a third. The third arbitrator so selected shall
arbitrate said dispute. The arbitration shall be governed by the rules of the American Arbitration
Association then in force and effect.
19. Entire Agreement
This Agreement shall constitute the entire agreement between the parties and any prior
understanding or representation of any kind preceding the date of this Agreement shall not be
binding upon either party except to the extent incorporated in this Agreement.
20. Modification of Agreement
Any modification of this Agreement or additional obligation assumed by either party in
connection with this Agreement shall be binding only if placed in writing and signed by each
party or an authorized representative of each party.
21. Assignment of Rights
The rights of each party under this Agreement are personal to that party and may not be
assigned or transferred to any other person, firm, corporation, or other entity without the prior,
express, and written consent of the other party.
22. Counterparts
This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be
deemed to be an original, but all of which together shall constitute but one and the same
instrument.
WITNESS our signatures as of the day and date first above stated.
_____________________________ _____________________________
CUSTOMER DESIGNER
Exhibit A
Payment and Working Schedule
I. Customer agrees to pay a Fee of $_____________ for the implementation of the
Project by Designer .
2. Designer will start the work on the Project only after the full payment of the due
Fee. The exact date when Designer will actually start to work on the Project
____________________________ (Start Date) will not exceed 10 working days after the
payment of the Fee. Customer will be informed about the Start Date of the Project after the
payment.
3. In __________ (number of days for sketches) after the Start Date, Designer will
provide the Customer with up to _______ (number of sketches) variants of design to
choose from.
4. Customer should choose and approve one of the variants. Further work on the
Project will be based on the chosen variant.
5. Designer shall continues to work on the Project regularly sending the results to the
Customer for review and approval and make necessary alterations until the Customer is
satisfied with the result. The total number of reviews could not exceed ______ alterations
or _____ working days from the date when Customer was provided with design variants
for selection.
6. Further work on the improvement of the Project after the allowed number of
reviews or working days is exceeded is possible only after the payment of additional fee
quoted by the sales representative.
WITNESS our signatures as of the day and date first above stated.
___________________________ ___________________________
CUSTOMER DESIGNER