Terms & Conditions

PARTIES:

Black Widow Designs

Known as "Designer"

and

The "Client"

SECTION I

GENERAL TERMS:

• All sales are final.

• No refunds or returns.

SECTION II

SCHEDULING/APPOINTMENTS:

• All services must be booked as Black Widow Designs does not offer rush services . A $50 non-refundable deposit will be required to secure a spot on the schedule. This fee will be deducted from the final amount of Client's invoice.
• Services should be booked well ahead of any other scheduled deadlines Client may have such as cover reveal, KDP pre-order submissions, ARC distribution, etc. Client understands that turnaround times are the same for everyone (no appointment takes precedence over another) and that their appointment could run anywhere from 1-3 weeks, longer still if excess alterations are requested. Furthermore, Designer is not responsible for any missed deadlines due to finalization delays and/or too-close-to-deadline bookings.
• Client agrees to have a general design vision and desired images ready to provide to Designer on appointment day. Images do not need to be licensed unless they are A) an exclusive image or B) images from another site that is not DepositPhotos.
• On appointment day, an order form and invoice will be provided. This form must be filled out within 24hrs, otherwise, the appointment will be considered abandoned and a $75 no-show fee will apply.
• Every Black Widow Designs service comes with an allotted number of stock photo credits from DepositPhotos. Any additional photo(s) that needs to be licensed after the fact is $10 per image unless Client is providing them.

TURNAROUND TIME:

Standard turnaround time for all services is 1-2 weeks, sometimes 3 for highly detailed projects like, for example, Tier 3 formatting or larger cover packages with multiple elements. In the event Designer needs more time to complete the Client's project than originally stated (i.e. illness, medical emergency, family emergency, etc), Client will be contacted to set up a new finalization date and/or cancel if a new date cannot be agreed upon.

PROOFS:

Regardless of what service is to be completed, Black Widow Designs does not offer multiple initial proofs. 1 proof will be provided in which the Client can then request alterations.

• Number of alteration rounds depends on what package is being completed. Additional alterations after the allotted number of rounds has been exceed will come with an additional charge of $15 PER change. These accrued fees will be reflected on Client's invoice. To possibly avoid the up-charge, Client should request all changes in one go per round.

• Client agrees to thoroughly review their files before approving for finalization. Black Widow Designs is not responsible for any claims/losses based on errors/inaccuracies appearing in Client's files after they've been approved for finalization and submitted to the Client.

• Upon finalization approval, all necessary images/elements will be licensed by Designer unless Client is providing them. *Please see Section IIV for more information.

PAYMENT:

A $50 non-refundable deposit will be required to secure a spot on the schedule. This fee will be deducted from the final amount of Client's invoice. In the event Client needs to cancel, cancellation fees apply within certain timeframes. Fees are as follows:

Cancellations made any time before the two weeks leading up to appointment: $25
Cancellations made within the two weeks leading up to appointment: $50
Cancellations made one week to 24 hours prior: $75
Cancellations made after design work has begun: $75

• Payment is due in full and within 72 hours of invoicing unless an alternate payment option has been discussed prior to invoicing.

• Missed invoice deadlines will come with an initial $25 late fee and an additional $10 per day after the fact until it is paid.

PAYMENT PLANS:

Black Widow Designs offers a 50/50 payment plan. First 50% is due ON appointment day. Second 50% is due upon file approval/finalization.

FILE DISTRIBUTION:

Once the invoice has been paid, Client will receive an email with a Google Drive link that houses all of their high-res files. Client will have full editing access to this folder for a 90-day period where they can continuously download these images.

CHANGES AFTER PAYMENT/APPROVAL:

Should the Client request any changes after approval for finalization and/or after payment has been been received, and Designer has distributed said files to the Client, a $50 alteration fee will apply and may increase with the number of files that need to be revised. Client also understands their final files are not to be altered in any way, shape, or form by anyone except Black Widow Designs without permission.

SECTION III

PRE-MADES:

• All pre-mades will sell only once.

• All pre-made sales are final.

• No refunds or returns.

• Payment is due in full within 24 hours of invoicing.

• Failure to do so will cancel out the invoice, thus rendering the pre-made available for purchase again.

PRE-MADE CHANGES:

If a pre-made is purchased but Client does not have use for it yet or is not ready to make changes, Black Widow Designs will gladly hold onto the cover for as long as Client deems necessary. In the same hand, if a pre-made is purchased and Client is ready to have those changes made, an order form will be provided upon request. Please allow 1-2 weeks after submitting the form for changes to be made.

SECTION IV

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY/COPYRIGHT OWNERSHIP

In the event that any copyrighted work(s) are created as a result of the Services provided by Designer in accordance with this Agreement, Designer owns all copyrights in any and all work(s) it creates or produces pursuant to federal copyright law (Title 17, Chapter 2, Section 201-02 of the United States Code), whether registered or unregistered. Any and all products, whether tangible or intangible, produced or created in connection with, or in the process of fulfilling this Agreement, are expressly and solely owned by Designer and may be used in the reasonable course of Designer's business.

Permitted Uses of Product(s)

While Black Widow Designs maintains full rights of all of their original designs and concepts, Designer grants to Client an exclusive license of product(s) produced with and for Client for personal/commercial use so long as Client provides BWD with attribution each time Client uses Designer's property. These uses include, but are not limited to, use within the following contexts:

Client may not copy, duplicate, recreate, or alter the Deliverables or allow others to copy, duplicate, recreate, alter or use the Project.
Client may not crop, distort, manipulate, reconfigure, mimic, create derivative works or extract portions or in any other manner, alter the Final Art. All copyright, trademarks, design rights and other intellectual property (registered and unregistered) shall remain vested in Designer. The Client agrees that such proprietary material is solely for Client’s own personal/commercial use of their books.
Any disclosure to a third party, copying or republishing any portion of the Deliverable or its contents is strictly prohibited and constitutes infringement.
The rights granted to Client are for usage of the Final Art in its original form only. Client’s use of the Final Art at any other time or location, or for another project or outside the scope of the rights specifically granted herein shall require an additional fee and Designer shall be entitled to further compensation equal to percent (100%) of the original Contract Price, unless otherwise agreed in writing by both parties. In the event of non-payment, Designer shall be entitled to pursue all remedies under law and equity.
If Client is partway into a series and would like to proceed with any other designer that is not Black Widow Designs, permission to recreate the series/images can be granted via written and signed agreement only.

LICENSING/IMAGE USE:

Black Widow Designs offers a preset amount of stock photo credits for each service. Amount will depend on what package the Client has selected. Designer will maintain full rights to those images. Should Client choose to provide images instead, whether stock or exclusive, the Client will maintain full rights to said images. Client must obtain the correct rights/permissions for commercial use of the image(s) they are providing. Client also understands that stock images are in no way exclusive, and that the same or similar images/models may appear on other authors and/or designers' work. Designer will not be held liable for covers/branding/formatting/swag created by a different designer that contain the same imagery.

ATTRIBUTION:

Black Widow Designs requires design credit of appropriate service(s) to appear in Client’s book on the copyright page. Any of the forms below are acceptable:

ARTISTIC RELEASE

Client has spent a satisfactory amount of time reviewing Designer's work and has a reasonable expectation that Designer will perform the Services in a similar manner and style unless otherwise specified.

Consistency

Designer will use reasonable efforts to ensure Client's desired Services are produced in a style and manner consistent with Designer's current portfolio. Designer will also try to incorporate any reasonable suggestion made by Client. However, Client understands and agrees that:

Every client is different, with different tastes, budgets, and needs;
Design services are often a subjective art and Designer has a unique vision, with an ever-evolving style and technique;
Designer will use its artistic judgment when providing Services for Client, which may not include strict adherence to Client’s suggestions;
Although Designer will use reasonable efforts to incorporate Client’s suggestions and desires when providing Client with the Services, Designer shall have final say regarding the aesthetic judgment and artistic quality of the Services.

LIMIT OF LIABILITY:

Client agrees that the maximum amount of damages he or she is entitled to in any claim relating to this Agreement or Services provided in this Agreement are not to exceed the Total Cost of Services provided by Designer.

Loss of Business.

Client agrees not to hold Designer liable for any loss of business, revenues, or reputation resulting from outside factors like, for example, "models behaving badly". Client also understands that while Designer strives to create unique, eye-catching designs, Designer cannot guarantee sales or success of any kind on Client's end.

Indemnification.

Client agrees to indemnify, defend and hold harmless Designer for any injury, property damage, liability, claim or other cause of action arising out of or related to Services and/or product(s) Designer provides to Client.

IMPOSSIBILITY:

Force Majeure.
No party shall be liable or responsible to the other party, nor be deemed to have defaulted under or breached this Agreement, for any failure or delay in fulfilling or performing any term of this Agreement (except for any obligations to make payments to the other party hereunder), when and to the extent such failure or delay is caused by or results from acts beyond the impacted party’s (“Impacted Party”) control, including, but not limited to, the following force majeure events (“Force Majeure Events”): (a) acts of God; (b) a natural disaster (fires, explosions, earthquakes, hurricane, flooding, storms, explosions, infestations), epidemic, or pandemic; (c) war, invasion, hostilities (whether war is declared or not), terrorist threats or acts, riot or other civil unrest; (d) government order or law; (e) actions, embargoes or blockades in effect on or after the date of this Agreement; (f) action by any governmental authority; (g) national or regional emergency; (h) strikes, labor stoppages or slowdowns or other industrial disturbances; and (i) shortage of adequate power or transportation facilities. The Impacted Party shall give Notice within seven days of the Force Majeure Event to the other party, stating the period of time the occurrence is expected to continue. The Impacted Party shall use diligent efforts to end the failure or delay and ensure the effects of such Force Majeure Event are minimized. The Impacted Party shall resume the performance of its obligations as soon as reasonably practicable after the removal of the cause. In the event that the Impacted Party’s failure or delay remains uncured for a period of seven days following Notice given by it, the other party may thereafter terminate this Agreement upon Notice.

CODE OF FAIR PRACTICE:

Black Widow Designs proudly states that the work provided to the Author is a 100% original creation, and has not been previously produced/published anywhere else. The work provided also does not contain any unlawful matter. Author also understands they, or anyone else, may not use Black Widow Designs' original work in any way that may infringe upon the rights of others.