Terms and Conditions

T.E. Black LLC Terms & Conditions

Effective 11/26/18

 

PUBLISHING RIGHTS AND BRAND NAMING

The client acknowledges he/she has obtained all rights and permissions to publish materials to be used in the project and shall be solely responsible for the materials and the validity of copyrights, trademarks and ownership claimed by the client. Client agrees to indemnify, hold harmless and defend T.E. Black LLC. and its employees from any and all libel and copyright and permission infringement action resulting from materials client provides. The book material client provides must not be a public domain work (unless client is the original author).

 

USE OF STOCK PHOTOS

T.E. Black LLC uses stock photos for client’s projects unless the client provides an image; taking full liability. T.E. Black LLC does not allow stock photos to be used if the stock photo website’s terms and conditions are being violated. The client agrees upon these conditions with having no “pornographic” content in their novel.

The use of these stock photos in novels containing violent sex, or non-consequential, or dubious consent violates the Depositphoto.com’s stock terms and conditions. You, the client, assume full legal liability should the content of your novel include any actions deemed as “inappropriate” by depositphotos.com.

If you have a book with “erotic” and/or “pornography” meaning violent sex, or non-consequential, or dubious consent. Deposit photos.com allows images tagged as “Erotic” or “Erotica” to be used on those book cover designs.

If the Client provides the main cover image. This ensures that they maintain the rights to said image. Details, such as flourishes, small extra images, and certain back images, are included in the cover design package and will not be the Client’s responsibility. The Client must obtain the correct rights and permissions for use of the photo they are providing. Client agrees to indemnify and hold harmless T.E. Black LLC from any and all copyright and permission infringement action resulting from materials client provides.

The client agrees to abide by the terms of any license agreement for any images purchased by, By T.E. Black LLC. through a third-party image provider for use in client’s book cover design. The cost of cover design includes the license to use these images and is limited to a print run of 250,000 units. For books with a print run over 250,000, additional licensing fees may apply. Images used for client’s cover are royalty-free; however, the photographer owns the copyright to those photographs and they cannot be distributed in any manner other than in the book cover design.

 

PAYMENTS

Initial Payment: A non-refundable 50% down payment is due at the time of booking. The remaining balance is due before workload begins. NO work will begin until payment is made in full. No exceptions.

Final Payment:Final payment is due within 5 days of your schedule date. A 10.00 late fee will be added for each additional week that payment isn’t made. If an invoice is not paid for more than 90 days (unless agreed upon by client and T.E. Black LLC, an additional $50 fee will be applied.

Rush Order Requests:A rush project, with less than a week turn around, will be a $100.00 added fee. A rush project, with a two week, or longer, turn around, will be a $75.00 added fee.

Payments: T.E. Black LLC only accepts payments through Paypal. No checks.

 

CLIENT RESPONSIBILITIES

Cover Design: Client is fully responsible for proofing the book cover design provided by by T.E. Black LLC. It is strongly suggested that client requests a proof from the printer before publishing or ordering any copies of the book. At no time will T.E. Black LLC. be held financially or legally responsible for any problems, costs, fees or expenses incurred by client as a result of using the book cover design.

Formatting: Client is fully responsible for proofing the formatted files provided by by T.E. Black LLC. It is strongly suggested that client requests a proof from the printer before publishing or ordering any copies of the book. At no time will T.E. Black LLC. be held financially or legally responsible for any problems, costs, fees or expenses incurred by client as a result of using the book cover design.

Other Services: Client is fully responsible for proofing the final files provided by by T.E. Black LLC. It is strongly suggested that client views a proof from the printer online or by mail before publishing or ordering. At no time will T.E. Black LLC. be held financially or legally responsible for any problems, costs, fees or expenses incurred by client as a result of using the final files.

 

USE OF PURCHASED LOGOS

The logo designs sold by T.E. Black LLC are “unofficial” and “unregistered”. This mean in no instance can the client add, by themselves or have someone else add “INC.”, “TM” or “LLC” to the logo design itself. The client agrees they will not use this logo for submitting for rights such as trademark, incorporated, or limited liability corporation.

If the client would like to do any of the above to the “unregistered” logo, the client must contact T.E. Black LLC as there will be additional fees chosen by the appropriate third-party image provider with fees upwards of $700.00 or more. You, the client, assume full legal liability should the you violate the third-party image provider’s terms and conditions.

 

CONFIDENTIALITY

All client information and materials are considered confidential and only for use by T.E. Black LLC. to provide a quote or complete a project. Client information and project materials will not be given out or shared with any third party, unless otherwise requested by the client.

T.E. Black LLC. retains the right to use client’s name and book title on T.E Black Design’s website and to market and promote our services.

 

WORK FLOW

Initial Proofs:T.E. Black LLC will send 1 proof, unless otherwise discussed, or if the Client has a very specific vision.

Changes to Proofs:There is an allowance of 10 changes total that may be made to the cover after the 1 initial proofs. Each additional change (up to3) will be an extra $20. This may include, but may not be limited to, font changes, color changes, or image mood changes.

Changes to images:If the main cover image changes after work has begun, there will be an additional $25 charge, per image change regardless of who provides the image.

Time frame:Please try to book your services as soon as possible and well ahead of any scheduled deadlines. T.E. Black LLC requires 7-10 Business Days (Monday-Friday) to return proof files. For the return of completed files, please allow 10-14 Business Days (Monday-Friday) from your scheduled service date. Any additional change will take extra time on T.E. Black Design’s part to complete and delay the completion of the final artwork. T.E. Black LLC is not responsible for missed deadlines on the Client’s end due to additional changes.

Changes after approval:The client understands that the cover image MAY NOT be altered by anyone except T.E. Black of T.E. Black LLC. The client also understands that additional charges may apply for any alterations after approval and/or after final files are sent. Changes after the final files are sent will begin at $40 and may increase with the number of files that need to be altered.

 

DESIGN SERVICES

Prices are subject to change at any time, and without warning. Price is only guaranteed upon receipt of deposit.

With each service, a detailed list of what is included is on our website at www.teblackdesigns.comand also listed in the description section of your invoice.

Additional extras may be included depending on the cover package chosen.

 

CANCELLATION

In the event of a cancellation before work has started, no further expenses will be owed. If the work has begun on the project, the remaining balance will be owed. Once work is booked, no refund will be given.

 

OWNERSHIP OF ARTWORK

T.E. Black LLC maintains full rights of all original artwork. Artwork AND CONCEPT, including layout, image style, placement, and fonts) may NOT be recreated by another person (Client OR alternate artist included)

T.E. Black LLC does not sell individual editable files to clients such as Photoshop files, InDesign Files, .DOCX files, etc. We do however, sell individual files to publisher if client has requested us to do so.

 

ATTRIBUTION

T.E. Black LLC requires that design credit in the form of “Cover Design by T.E. Black of T.E. Black LLC” in the client’s e-book, and paperback copy. E-book files have the option to be linked to T.E. Black Design’s Facebook page and/or website, but it is not required.

When using a stock photo for the client’s cover design, the client agrees to give proper credit to the third-party image provider for use in client’s book cover design in the form of “ Cover  Image: www.depositphotos.com or www.shutterstock.com . You will obtain this information from T.E. Black LLC. This proper credit will be placed on the copyright page of your novel.

 

LIABILITY

T.E. Black LLC is not liable for damages of any kind, including loss of revenues, profits, business, reputation, or data, in any way related to our services. T.E. Black LLC is not responsible for any claim, loss, or injury based on errors or inaccuracies appearing on our site or in our clients’ written documents once the cover has been approved.

Should T.E. Black LLC take longer to complete the project than originally indicated i.e. family emergency, act of nature, the Client will be contacted via social media or email to agree upon a new project completion date.

 

PROJECT SUSPENSION

We sincerely request that you trust us to do the job you are paying T.E. Black LLC to do. That you will take on board suggestions, and ideas, to be in your best interests. We take pride in our work and are not art-workers, therefore, any form of micro-managing, or forced art direction during the development of the project will not be tolerated.

We reserve the right to suspend any project if a client: interferes with excessive micromanaging, demonstrates a continued lack of trust and inability to move forward after showing more than a reasonable number of unique book cover ideas/concepts, and/or shows reluctance in paying the final payment.

Fair notice will be given with fair chance to remedy the situation without resorting to project suspension or termination. Any suspension, or termination, will not result in any refunds and all designs and work thus developed remain the full ownership of T.E. Black LLC.

 

CODE OF FAIR PRACTICE

T.E. Black LLC acknowledges that to the best of his/her knowledge, the work prepared is an original creation and has not been previously published and/or consent to use has been obtained on an unlimited basis. The work prepared does not contain any scandalous, libelous, or unlawful matter. The Client and/or others may not use T.E. Black LLC’ product in any way that may infringe upon the rights of others.

 

ACCEPTATION OF TERMS

Both T.E. Black LLC and the Client will acknowledge acceptance of these terms. By acknowledging this contract, the Client agrees to hold T.E. Black LLC entirely free from any liability, including financial.