Curious about this note about confidentiality in an art test brief I received
polycounter lvl 3
Referring to the part about "we will reserve the rights to take further action", what can they do realistically? Keep in mind I was not shown a confidentiality agreement and I never signed anything. Is it an empty threat? The assignment btw was in no way tied to any specific IP either. The brief was very open-ended. Literally just had to design a hero character for a fictional MOBA game. So why should they care?
Did this test a few weeks ago. I've yet to hear back but in the event that my test gets turned down I would've liked to upload it to my portfolio so that I might have at least gotten something out of the time and effort spent on this, y'know?
Replies
No I haven't discussed it with them. They just mentioned it a few times that I can't post it to social media or my portfolio. My only communication with them was through email.
There was no confidentiality agreement in place either since it was exclusive from internal project work.
For a test like this I would expect some manner of compensation, the very least I'll definitely want to add the piece in my portfolio.
Only reason I'm thinking they'd say something like this is if they are providing you with a concept under NDA, which is likely going to make it to their game as a 3D model through their internal team, though that's really sketchy behaviour for a company.
Meaning I've never had a company assign me an art test based on a concept that is part of their project and is under NDA (not yet live/published in game), because it muddies the line between this being an art test and them having the ability to use some part of the model.
Like even if they say that they won't, seeing the thing in 3D without any compensation is improper.
Since one task that 3D artists sometimes do is look dev/previz work, translating a 2D concept to 3D so that the studio can see what it looks like (even if it isn't final)
In this case you're doing all the steps and giving them a finished model, and even seeing it realized (if it comes from an internal concept) is something you ought to be paid for.
The other thing -. and that actually should go without saying - postiing an art test without the companies explicit consent runs the risk of copyright infringments. I mean its completely obivous working from their concept, no matter if its part of the project or not, but also if you are asked to do concepts for their IP. That's why the line is in the contract there to make sure there is no grey area just because some artist wants to be smart about it. And even if its not written down, its a common practise to keep art test unpublished so that you can at least assume that they might have an issue with that.
If you want to use your art test for self-promotiion ask for permission.
Final note:
You don't need an extra NDA-agreement if its stated in your contract that you shall not show that stuff or talk about it. NDAs are just more precise to cover more ground. But yes, they can take legal action if you accept to do the art test as this will most likely in your country be enough to establish a binding contract between you and them based on what's written in the offer/assignment they gave you. Things that are not explicitly mentioned in the contract just mean that its up to the law to fill it out. So to know how far they can go you should talk to a lawyer that is familiar with the law that has to be applied to the contract. But again, I wouldn't get scared by the way its written there. To me its sounds just like standard practise and talked over with them directly.
Legally though, I'm not sure how they could enforce something I never officially agreed to in the first place.
Also I don't want to talk to them personally right now because I'm still awaiting the results of the test. I don't want to potentially dissuade them from hiring me even if it's just a question I'm asking.
I'm not too sure how NDA's work in such situations, likely more a don't ask don't tell approach.
If anything I wish there was more transparency in workplace NDA's across the board, there ought to be a limit to how much confidentiality is possible in any given situation, but there are times when it really goes too far simply because of the legal ramifications of it or just plain paranoia.
IMHO this is a fallacy, as the clarity of the terms of a contract depends on both parties involved. If the terms are not clear enough or not to your liking, *you* get to refuse them and/or edit them.
It's easy : print out the contract draft, scratch the terms you don't like or want clarification on, rewrite the paragraph to your liking, and send it back for review for the other party. Rince and repeat until you reach an agreement, then sign. Or don't reach an agreement, and don't sign. That's literally what a contract draft is for.
His situation is more like if he doesn't agree he can piss off.
Its not all that different from 3rd party where if you don't agree to risk your life to meet first party deadlines you can choose to become redundant so the government will take care of you until we can reason with 1st party to drop their paranoia and put a faceless persons life before their balance sheet.
Like OP certainly isn't risking his life either way, but it is a legitimate question, he's just wondering what the point of their rigidness is, and why something he's doing for an art test needs to be protected to the point that his uncompensated work can't be put in a portfolio so he gets something out of the experience.
They could certainly be flexible, for instance allow showcasing in the portfolio and not indicate what it is or where its from.
Good possibility others before him have already shown their work on the same art test to rival employees through password protected portfolios.
So what's the bloody point of it all?
I mean a lot of corporate structures really don't have a point and this exodus because of the virus is really making many people think why they blindly accept those arrangements.
Regardless I just feel that for the purpose of an art test, can be less paranoid.
Its like how I and many others used to watermark our work when we posted our initial work a long long time ago.
It didn't matter for shit, I mean maybe if I signed it and found fame it might sell for millions like Uderzo's early Asterix illustrations.