Cassandra Vion - Scientific Illustration

General Terms and Conditions of Services

Article 1 – Purpose

These General Terms and Conditions of Service (hereinafter ‘the GTCS’) regulate the contractual relationship between Cassandra Vion, a freelance creative artist, hereinafter referred to as ‘the Contractor’, and any natural or legal person, hereinafter referred to as ‘the Client’, in relation to the provision of graphic design, illustration and, if applicable, the transfer of copyright.

Any order implies unreserved acceptance of these GTS.

Article 2 – Agreement of the Parties

The Client and the Contractor agree to cooperate actively to ensure the proper execution of the contract. Each party commits to communicating any difficulties of which they become aware as the project progresses, to allow the other party to take the necessary measures.

To allow the Contractor to carry out their assignment successfully, the Client undertakes to:

 

Article 3 – Commitment of the parties

The Client and the Service Provider undertake to cooperate actively to ensure the proper performance of the contract. Each party agrees to communicate any difficulties of which they become aware as the project progresses, to enable the other party to take the necessary measures.

To enable the Service Provider to carry out its work properly, the Client undertakes to :

  • provide all the information necessary for the drafting of the contract. The Client undertakes to notify the Contractor of any changes to the information provided and shall be held solely responsible for any malfunctions that may result from incorrect information. The Client must maintain a valid postal and email address.
  • establish precise and detailed specifications that shall not be subject to further amendment, unless agreed by the parties, once approved by the Contractor.
  • provide the Contractor with a purchase order and/or the quotation (dated, signed and/or stamped).
  • provide, within the agreed timeframes, all the elements necessary to perform the service. Any delay attributable to the Client may result in an equivalent postponement of the delivery deadlines.
  • hold the necessary rights to the documents they provide to the Contractor. The Client indemnifies the Contractor against any third-party claims relating to the infringement of data rights or copyright.

The Contractor undertakes to:

  • ensure that the designs created are not subject to any third-party rights in relation to the intended exploitation under the contract.
  • keep the Client informed of the progress of the project on a regular and effective basis, in particular through validations submitted to the Client.
  • keep strictly confidential all information and documents of any kind relating to the Client to which they may have had access, in particular in the course of carrying out an assignment. The data collected shall under no circumstances be disclosed to a third party.

Article 3 – Additional costs

Any items that may be required for the Contractor to carry out their services which are not included in their quotations are not covered by the prices quoted (e.g. typefaces, photographs, stock images, printing expenses, etc.). These additional costs shall be paid by the Client directly to the relevant supplier or external service provider.

Article 4 – Delivery times

The delivery times communicated are provided for information purposes only, unless expressly agreed otherwise. They run from:

  • the confirmation of the order (signed purchase order and/or quotation);
  • receipt of any down payment;
  • and the provision by the Client of all necessary information.

Receipt by the Contractor of the signed purchase order and/or quotation constitutes acceptance of the GTCS.

Article 5 – Modifications and corrections

The quotation includes up to four rounds of corrections (two at the sketch stage, two at the development stage).

Any additional requests will result in an additional charge. Any substantial changes to the specifications after the quotation has been approved may result in a new quotation being drawn up.

Once the project has been finally approved, the Contractor shall not be held liable for any errors in the content (textual and/or graphic).

Article 6 – Approval of design steps

Each stage of the project is subject to approval by the Client.

In the absence of approval or a request for changes to the various stages of development by the Client within fifteen (15) calendar days of their submission, these shall be deemed to have been approved by both parties, unless a reasoned objection is notified in writing.

Article 7 – Rates and Terms of Payment

Prices are quoted in euros.

Unless otherwise stated or agreed in advance, a deposit of 30 per cent of the total amount of the project shall be payable upon placing the order.

Unless expressly stated otherwise, payment of the invoice is due no later than the 30th day following the invoice date. Payment shall be made by bank transfer using the bank details provided.

Article 8 – Late Payment

In the event of late payment, penalty charges shall be automatically payable from the day following the due date, at a rate of 30 per cent per annum, without the need for a reminder (Article L. 441-10 of the Commercial Code). Any delay in payment shall also give rise to a fixed compensation payment of €40 to cover recovery costs (Article L. 441-10, II and Article D. 441-5 of the French Commercial Code). In the event of non-payment, the Client may be liable for all recovery costs (postage costs, lawyers’ fees, court costs, etc.).

Article 9 – Deliverables

The deliverables provided to the Client are exclusively those expressly mentioned in the quotation or the contract.

Unless stated otherwise, the service comprises solely the delivery of finalised files in the agreed formats. Working files, source files (including PSD, AI, Procreate, InDesign, layers, sketches, graphic research, variants, colour palettes, fonts or any other production documents) remain the exclusive property of the Contractor and are never provided to the Client, unless expressly stated in the quotation and subject to specific remuneration.

Any subsequent request for files not originally provided will be subject to an additional quotation.

As there are numerous ways of viewing the finished work, which do not all meet the same standards, the colours visible on a screen or printed on a particular printer shall not be deemed contractual. The Contractor shall not be held liable for any differences between a digital preview and the final result of the products (whether in digital or printed form).

Article 10 – Suspension of service

Any confirmed order is binding on the parties.

In the event of a failure to reply, late provision of the necessary information or, more generally, any failure on the part of the Client that prevents the normal continuation of the service for a period exceeding 30 days, the Service Provider may suspend performance of the contract.

Such suspension shall not constitute a breach on the part of the Contractor and shall result in a corresponding extension of the delivery deadlines.

If the interruption attributable to the Client exceeds 90 days, the Contractor may treat the order as abandoned. Any sums already paid shall be retained, and work already carried out shall be invoiced on a pro rata basis according to its progress.

All copyright remains the exclusive and full property of the Contractor, with the exception of data provided by the Client. The Client may not therefore claim ownership of any work produced by the Contractor without financial contribution.

Article 11 – Urgent Orders

Any order requiring completion within a timeframe shorter than that normally applied by the Contractor may be subject to a surcharge, as specified in the quotation. This surcharge covers, in particular, the reorganisation of the production schedule and the specific constraints imposed by the timetable.

Article 12 – Inability to work

In the event of incapacity to work resulting from illness or an accident, the Contractor reserves the right to amend the current schedule without the Client being entitled to claim compensation. It is agreed that the Contractor must notify the Client on the first working day of their incapacity.

Article 13 – Force Majeure

Neither party shall be held liable for any breach resulting from an event constituting force majeure within the meaning of Article 1218 of the Civil Code.

Article 14 – Ownership of Works

All creations remain protected under the Intellectual Property Code. The Artist retains full ownership of their copyright, including their moral rights, which are perpetual, inalienable and imprescriptible (Articles L. 121-1 et seq. of the Intellectual Property Code).

The handover of files or works shall in no circumstances constitute a transfer of exploitation rights.

Article 15 – Transfer of copyright

Any transfer of rights is subject to express authorisation.
In accordance with Article L. 131-3 of the Intellectual Property Code, the rights transferred are strictly defined in the quotation or contract, in particular with regard to:

  • the rights transferred;
  • the authorised media;
  • the duration;
  • the territory;
  • the purposes of use.

Any use not expressly authorised shall be subject to a new authorisation and additional payment.

Article 16 – Integrity of the work

In accordance with Articles L.121-1 et seq. of the Intellectual Property Code, the Client undertakes to respect the integrity of the work. Unless authorised in writing by the Contractor, the following are prohibited in particular:

  • graphic modifications;
  • the removal or addition of elements;
  • changes to colours;
  • distortions;
  • substantial cropping;
  • animations;
  • photomontages;
  • any adaptation likely to alter the spirit of the work.

Any adaptation must be subject to the Contractor’s prior consent.

Article 17 – Mention of the author

Unless technically impossible or contrary to professional practice, the Client undertakes to mention the Contractor’s name whenever the work is reproduced or distributed. The Contractor reserves the right to include in the final product a commercial credit clearly indicating their contribution, such as the phrase ‘Illustrations by: Cassandra Vion, scientific and medical illustrator’.

Article 18 – Use by artificial intelligence systems

Unless the Service Provider has given its express written consent, the works, illustrations, sketches, graphic designs, digital files or any other material produced as part of the service may not be:

  • used to train, improve or feed an artificial intelligence system;
  • incorporated into a database intended for machine learning;
  • submitted to an automated image or content generator for the purpose of producing derivative works;
  • used for the development of algorithms or generative models.

Any use contrary to this constitutes unauthorised exploitation of copyright.

Article 19 – Portfolio

Unless agreed otherwise in writing, the Contractor is authorised to reproduce the designs created as part of the service for the purpose of promoting their professional activity.

Such use may take place, in particular, on:

  • their website;
  • their social media;
  • their portfolio;
  • their application documents;
  • their conferences;
  • their exhibitions;
  • their professional publications.

Where the project is subject to a confidentiality obligation, such presentation shall only take place after the Client’s authorisation or after the project’s first official publication.

Article 20 – Applicable law and dispute resolution

These GTCS are governed by French law.
In the event of a dispute, the parties shall seek an amicable resolution before taking any legal action. If no agreement can be reached, the matter shall be referred to the courts with territorial jurisdiction in accordance with the rules of the Code of Civil Procedure.

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