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Can You Put Company Projects in Your Freelance Portfolio?
Jan 17, 2024
Can you put company projects in your portfolio as a freelancer. It’s a question we get all the time and today, we’ll dive deep into the answer.
• • • VIDEO CHAPTERS • • •
0:00 Introduction
1:20 Do You Own the Copyright?
1:47 Was This an Employer Project?
3:06 Try Hectic for Freelancers
3:52 Was This a Client Project?
4:43 Still Not Sure?
• • • MENTIONED IN THIS VIDEO • • •
Our Free Facebook Group for Freelancers: https://millo.co/mastermind
How "Work for Hire" affects Freelancers: https://millo.co/work-for-hire
Hectic for Freelancers: https://millo.co/hectic
• • • SUBSCRIBE for more freelancing videos • • • https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHUE7dy9CxjtipQgGVhrNQg
• • • LEARN MORE on the Millo blog or podcast • • •
Blog — https://millo.co/blog
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0:00
Can you put company projects in your portfolio as a freelancer
0:03
It's a question that we get all the time and today we'll dive deep into the answer
0:08
Stay tuned. Hey guys, it's Josh here again with Millo.co where freelancers come to level up their business
0:19
And today we're answering another question from the Facebook group. Can I include agency work in my personal portfolio
0:26
Here's how group member Lisa puts it. I've been a graphic designer for 17 years now and have decided to fly solo
0:32
So I'm attempting to get my portfolio together. I'd like to display some previous work I'm really proud of, but I'm wondering if I need
0:39
permission from the studios where I produced it. Figuring out whether or not you can actually include previous projects in your portfolio
0:46
as a freelancer can be a challenge. But today we're going to explain exactly what you should do to stay out of legal trouble
0:54
Although we have lots of experience working with freelancers, we are not lawyers
0:59
This video is also sponsored by Hectic. More on them later in the video
1:03
And remember, if you subscribe to this channel and leave a comment on this video telling
1:07
us what to cover next, we'll enter you to win $1,000. Okay, here are a few questions that you should ask yourself when trying to determine whether
1:16
or not you should include previous work in your freelance portfolio. First, do you own the copyright to the work
1:23
If the answer is yes, then of course you can include it in your portfolio
1:27
But keep in mind, just because you created something doesn't mean that you own the copyright
1:32
We'll cover more on that in a minute. If the answer is no, then you'll legally need to get permission from the former employer
1:38
company, or agency for whom you accomplished the work before you can display it publicly
1:43
If you're not sure whether you own the copyright, then keep watching. We'll help you figure it out
1:48
Question number two, did you complete this project for an employer? If the answer is yes, then it's most common and very likely that your former employer
1:56
owns the copyright to the work that you produced, and you'll need their permission before
2:01
you can legally show it in your portfolio. This is only the case for most full-time employment contracts, not necessarily client contracts
2:09
If the answer is no, then you most likely own the copyright to your work
2:13
Make sure to check applicable laws in your country, but in most countries, you don't
2:17
have to file for official copyright. You simply own the copyright to anything you've created, unless otherwise stated
2:23
in a contract, such as an employment agreement. Also keep in mind, even if your employment contract doesn't explicitly list who owns
2:31
portfolio display rights or other intellectual property rights, the most likely scenario
2:36
is that your former employer owns the work you created for them
2:40
Even if you didn't sign anything, most courts would likely rule in favour of your employer
2:45
since most employee-employer relationships are work-for-hire by default. You can learn more about how a work-for-hire agreement affects you as a freelancer by reading
2:55
the article we'll link in the description of this video. And if you still aren't sure whether you can include your previous work in your freelance
3:02
portfolio, you've got to move on to question number three. But before we go there, I'd like to take a minute to thank this video's sponsor, Hectic
3:10
Hectic is a powerful all-in-one suite of tools for freelancers. You can literally do almost anything needed to grow a successful freelance business within
3:19
the Hectic app. From proposals, to time tracking, to client management and calendaring, Hectic is our
3:26
current favourite tool for freelancers who want to grow. Plus, if you like learning with video, you'll enjoy Hectic Academy, which is 100% free
3:36
In Hectic Academy, you can learn how to run your freelance business like a pro from experts
3:41
who've done it all before. Learn more at millau.co forward slash Hectic or by clicking the link in our description
3:48
And thanks to Hectic for supporting this video and freelancers everywhere. Okay, now on to question number three
3:54
Did you complete this project for a client? If the answer is yes, then knowing whether you can put company projects in your portfolio
4:00
comes down to your original contract. If you don't have a contract, then by default, you own the copyright and you can display
4:08
the work however you like. If you do have a contract, you'll want to check for the words, work for hire
4:15
This particular phrase means the client legally owns any work you produced for them and you'll
4:20
legally need their permission to include the work in your portfolio. Barring that phrase or any other legal agreement, giving your client the rights to the project
4:28
you most likely own the copyright and can put it in your portfolio with no issue
4:33
If the answer is no and you also didn't create it for an employer, then you likely
4:37
own the portfolio display rights for this project. You can include it wherever and however you'd like
4:43
If answering the previous three question, you're still not sure if you can use agency
4:48
work in your personal portfolio, there is a very simple solution. Just ask for permission anyway
4:54
It is by far the simplest way to put previous work in your portfolio without any legal problems
5:00
But what if you left on bad terms with a previous employer? Not everyone leaves their job on good terms
5:05
Some people hate their former boss and can't fathom the thought of emailing them to ask
5:09
permission to put company projects in their portfolio. But unfortunately, if you worked as an employee for a company while you created work for them
5:18
then, legally speaking, you're a bit stuck. You can't legally show projects in your portfolio that you created as an employee
5:25
without permission from the company you worked for. Of course, you can always take your chances and put company projects into your portfolio anyway
5:33
But instead of immediately suing you, your former employee would most likely send a cease
5:37
and desist letter first, asking you to remove it from your portfolio, in which case, you
5:43
absolutely should. Again, we're not lawyers. We recommend that you seek legal counsel if it's complicated
5:49
And that's it. Three questions you can ask yourself to know whether or not you can include previous in-house
5:54
work in your freelance portfolio. Remember, we're giving one freelancer $1,000 for leaving a comment and telling us what
6:02
to cover in our next video. For now, I'm Josh with Millo.co and we'll see you next time
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