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137c3fc1
Community Member

Can I give a prospect a cut sample of a previous job on Upwork to see an example of my work?

Hi!  I'm just curious...can I use a portion of a previous job completed on Upwork to show as an example to a prospective new client?  

ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Petra is 100% correct about this.

View solution in original post

18 REPLIES 18
kam_andru
Community Member

Hi Amy,

 

If you have permission from the client you can share any of your works, if it is from Upwork or outside, as a portion or completely, and in some cases even if the client did not mentions it, we know it must be kept safe, like book designs(its ok share the cover mockup), signatures, etc.

 

You can also link Upwork works with clients' reviews after adding those works into your profile.

 

I hope this is helpful to you.


Kamarudheen C wrote:

You can share any of your works, if it is from Upwork or outside, as a portion or completely.


Please do not give people advice which is dangerously wrong and can affect their account.

 

Amy, you can ONLY use previous work if you have the express permission from the client. This applies for proposals and your portfolio. Please ignore the previous advice, it is wrong!

Petra is 100% correct about this.

Thank you!

137c3fc1
Community Member

Thank you, I will do that.  I appreciate it!

Be careful however. When I began on UpWork, I had clients message me and I sent them snippets and found out they took those and closed the contracts. So basically did their work for free. I am very cautious now about what I do add as examples.

Thanks Ja'Net!

wlyonsatl
Community Member

Amy,

 

The answer to your question is not as clearcut "yes" or "no" as others here would have you believe.

 

What sort of work do you do for Upwork clients?

 

Do you sign any sort of non-disclosure agreements with any of your clients?

 

Can you remove any distinguishing client-owned marks from your work (e.g. trademarks, brand names) to highlight only the nature and quality of the work you do?

One of the best ways to create a portfolio and items to share is to have "yourself as a client." That means you meke things specifically for the purpose of putting them into your portfolio and sharing them with prospective clients.

 

If you want to put things in an online portfolio, you should always have permission from the person who is the owner. It is not necessary that the work was done as a paid Upwork contract.

 

There ARE things you can send that do not explicitly require permission from the owner.

For example, you can send links to articles you wrote that are published on public web pages online. (Only do this if your name is credited as the writer.)

 

(Keep in mind that just because you WROTE an article and are publicly credited as the writer, that doesn't give you permission to post it in your portfolio or anywhere else. But you can send links as part of a proposal.)

 

You can also send links to public websites you have created.

Preston, thanks much!

Will, I am a writer.  The one I am referring to was a heavy edit with a change in tone with humor and conversation, which is what I want to continue to do.  I can cut 2-3 paragraphs without the company name/info seen, showing before and after, and copy onto a Word doc.  In this case, it was just an individual.  I did not sign any non-disclosure.  

 

Amy


Amy H wrote:

Will, I am a writer.  The one I am referring to was a heavy edit with a change in tone with humor and conversation, which is what I want to continue to do.  I can cut 2-3 paragraphs without the company name/info seen, showing before and after, and copy onto a Word doc.  In this case, it was just an individual.  I did not sign any non-disclosure.  

 

Amy


Even if you didn't sign a non-disclosure, if the client paid for your work then they own it now, so you always need to ask whether you can use it as a sample or as part of your portfolio. (And if you did sign a non-disclosure, then don't even ask if you can use it.)

What was the end use of the text you wrote, Amy?

 

Love letter?

Complaint to customer service?

Advertising copy to use in a national ad campaign?

Ghost-written novel or Broadway play?

Other?

 

petra_r
Community Member


Amy H wrote:

  I did not sign any non-disclosure.  


Unless you have an agreement with the client to the contrary, once the work is paid for, the client owns all rights and you are not allowed to use it. 

 

Whether you signed a non-disclosure or not is irrelevant in this context. The default terms (which apply if you don't have any agreement to the contrary) apply. 


Will L wrote:

Amy,

 

The answer to your question is not as clearcut "yes" or "no" as others here would have you believe.

 


If you try to add an item from a previous Upwork project to your portfolio, Upwork themselves will contact the client and ask their permission for its use. If the client refuses, then the freelancer can't use it. So I'd say that it's pretty clearcut.

How, Christine, does Upwork check - or know whether they need to check - with all 300+ of my previous Upwork clients to confirm that none of my work samples were from those clients' projects?

 

That sounds like it would be a very cumbersome process for each time any of Upwork's 10s of thousands of freelancers add each new work sample to their portfolios.


Will L wrote:

How, Christine, does Upwork check - or know whether they need to check - with all 300+ of my previous Upwork clients to confirm that none of my work samples were from those clients' projects?

 

That sounds like it would be a very cumbersome process for each time any of Upwork's 10s of thousands of freelancers add each new work sample to their portfolios.


If you check off the box that says a portfolio piece was for an Upwork client, then Upwork does email the client to ask approval; it's automated, so probably not that cumbersome. But sure, it's an optional step and probably the client won't find out that you used the piece without telling them. That doesn't alter my point - the client owns the work and they can deny you permission to use it. I've never come across another freelancer who thinks that it isn't a good business practice to check with them first. Anyway, you go ahead and keep asking the OP for the exact circumstances of what she wrote and whether you think that she needs permission or not; meanwhile, she could have just emailed her client by now.

 

wlyonsatl
Community Member

Amy H.,

 

Contrary to what you've heard from others here, there is such a thing as limited but not precisely defined "fair use" of materials owned by other individuals:

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use

 

If you are located outside the US, different rules may apply.

 

If it's important enough to you, ask a qualified lawyer. 

 

Good luck!

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