Website PSD files are the result of the work of a design studio?

Question

HTML

Ordered design and layout design studio. In the final, they gave us the layout pages, but they don’t give the design in PSD. They say - we never give away PSD, these are our developments, our tools ..
Are they right?
From the contract:
The Contractor undertakes:
2.1.2. Develop a Design (Design Concept) of the Client's Website in accordance with the Brief and this Agreement. The design (design concept) of the Site is approved by the Parties by signing by authorized representatives of the Parties and sealing the Design of the main page of the Site and one of the internal pages of the Site, posted on paper, and signing the Interim Act;
2.1.3. To carry out the layout of the templates of the pages of the Client's Website in accordance with the Brief, the approved Design (Design Concept) of the Website and this Agreement. Upon completion of work on this stage of work, the Parties sign the Work Acceptance Certificate.

Answer 1

Formally, you ordered the work. The output artifacts are design AND layout. Two artifacts. You have received the layout. And where is design as an artifact separate from layout? The question is how it will be presented - a separate guidebook in paper or electronic form. It's not clear in your contract. There is only a description of the approval procedure but not the acceptance of the result.
Press on the fact that you received only the layout. But there is nothing that can be called design - ie. a document or some other artifact according to which you can implement derivative works.

Answer 2

The contract includes such a concept as "Design concept". Please understand the difference between the terms CONCEPT and LAYOUT. A pencil sketch on a notebook sheet can also be called a concept.
Firstly, the concept does not imply PSD or Photoshop in general, they could design in Sketch, Illustrator or even Paint, because you did not initially discuss that the work should be done in Photoshop.
Secondly, the end result of the work in this case is not a design, but a layout, and as I understand it, they made up the approved design and issued it?
Thirdly, the fact that you are not given a PSD does not mean that they will be sold to someone else, this is nonsense. It’s just that there is such a thing as architectural supervision and the developers want that in case of updates and edits, they work on the layout, and not a guest worker designer who will ruin everything.

Answer 3

Hmm, from paragraph "2.1.2. Develop a Design ..." it follows that they should give you a psd (if the source is of this format). There are two services in the contract: design development and layout from the layout of this design, you paid for two services, they "gave" you one service.
Although this is a moot point.
If they do not give the source code of the design, then most likely they can (will) use it for other orders and it is not known how many more sites will appear with "your" design. The second reason I see is that the studio could just find a ready-made template (especially if the site is average) and they simply don’t have a psd template.

Answer 4

You answered your own question: all the obligations of the contractor and the customer are described in the contract. Anything not covered in the contract is irrelevant.

Answer 5

I think they just deceived you, bought the layout for a penny and sent you after a while.

Answer 6

Files (any) cannot be called a design. In the design files, the layout that the site design displays. Design, on the other hand, is something intangible, describing not only visual factors, but the result of the study of which these factors can be. And PSD files are just layout sources.
On the other hand, I sincerely do not understand why the studios keep the source code. The only logical option is their absence: instead of developing a design layout, you were given screenshots of ready-made template sites, and instead of layout, they changed the logo and finalized the template in detail. In this case, the terms of the contract are not fully complied with.
If you give a link or a screenshot, I think the template can be easily recognized. And then proceed from non-compliance with the terms of the contract.

Answer 7

If the contract does not explicitly state PSD, the studio has the right not to give the source code.
They can always "move out" by giving you a PNG design.
This is redneck, of course, but it was the same in our company. The source code was sold to those who wished at a separate price list. True, we had a slightly different specificity - printing design was a bonus to production.

Answer 8

The contract must be spelled out for intellectual property, that is, something like "Upon completion of the work, the contractor is obliged to transfer to the customer all the developments related to the development of the site, backing up the work with acceptance certificates and in electronic form on a flash drive or CD"
And they also do not have the right to sell their custom work that says development (rather than sale/delivery) until they receive an intellectual property verification certificate, which they will not receive, as there are requirements.
Although you can sell everything from under the floor!

Answer 9

We have to agree.
All contracts are pieces of paper not much more expensive than used toilet paper. You need them to cover your f..pu in which case.
You communicate not with paper, but with people. What are their motives.

• Carry on further negotiations only with the chief executive
  
• You can ask them what prevents them from breaking their "rules". to make an exception for you to give you the source code?
  
• Tell a specific person from them that if they do not give you the source code, then you will be fired and personally he will be guilty of leaving a family with three children without a breadwinner
  
• You can explain to them that you have different rules, and if they do not meet you halfway, then in this case you will be forced to turn to other performers in the future.
  
• You can take the signed acts from them and do not sign until they give you the EDITABLE sources