That old thorny question of copyright

I have just finished my first paid commission on a private location, one of the conditions being the client would own copyright of photos on full payment. Not something I was overly happy about but went along nevertheless, and they have agreed I can use the photos for my own use. My question to the more experienced of you is:

I just sent a selection of jpegs, about 25%, covering what they required and obviously those that came out the best from my RAW files. It also occurred that I could take more for my own use but as it turned out there wasn't time. So, would the client's copyright only apply to those I sent or could they legitimately claim ownership of all those taken at their location on that day?

As i understand it Rob, they could legitimately claim copyright of all the images shot on the day as it was a private location shoot and that was the condition you agreed to before the shoot.

Thanks Chris, just writing the post clarified things and I came to the same conclusion. Still it was an interesting experience and I just hope they like the results.

http://www.photographers-resource.co.uk/photography/Legal/Copyright.htm

Once you have handed over copyright you can no longer use them without their permission, in situations like this you should give them unlimited licensing rights this way they get the usage you keep the copyright.

Thanks Cabstar, it was non-negotiable and being being my first paid assignment I went along with it for the experience. It came about from my work photographing a Countryfile episode being filmed (see another thread) and other voluntary shoots. It was fun in a way and the cash is a bonus but I wouldn’t like to do it on a regular basis like a full time pro, what with the expectation to get it right and processing loads of photos afterwards.