I?m an interior designer with my own business.  I recently received a
letter from the lawyer of my old boss, threatening a lawsuit if I
didn?t remove photos from my website and promotional material that
used items and design work done while I worked for him.

I removed most of those pictures from my website.  The project in
question is one that I began while working for him.  When I left, the
client stayed with me, not him.  The designs that were begun under the
boss changed significantly from the original plans prior to being
implemented.  However, there is some furniture that was ordered
through his company, that remained in the design, and that are in my
photographs.

Am I really required to re-do my brochures and website?  Does the
design belong to me or to him?  Is the problem solved if I just put my
name under the photos and give credit to his company also?  Or do I
need to get permission from him (which he certainly won?t give me) to
even mention his company on the website/brochures?  Is this an
intellectual property question?  What about brochures that I sent out
a few months ago?

What California laws can I reference regarding this matter?  What
other resources are available on this matter?  Also, do I need to
respond to the letter sent from his lawyer?  Should I have an attorney
write the letter, or should I write it?  I?m imagining that I?m not
the first designer to leave a firm and have issues regarding
photographs and ownership.

I think this is a pretty hairy question, but I will throw my two
cents, hopefully another researcher with a little more freetime can
come up with a full answer, but here goes:

While your former employer can claim ownership of a specific design
(the plans and work that went into them), the actual finished work is
the property of the client. Therefore, if the client is happy for your
to take photos you should be okay on that count.

I can't imagine that your former employer would have any legal rights
based on the fact that furniture used in the design was ordered
through them. They might possibly be entitled to some sort of credit,
but I don't think even that would be the case.

There should be no IP issues in this case, unless the photos you used
were theirs. You are not in a position to recall brochures, so I doubt
that would be an issue, as long as you can demonstrate that you
complied with their requests once they were made.

Good luck with your further research.

Regards,
Sycophant-ga