You enter murky waters when contracting with clients who insist on  
controlling your field notes, photos, and maps of resources either on their land  or on 
jobs they are paying. I always have a clause in my contracts that state I  
must turn-in a report to the information center within 30-days of completion of  
the report. Should some client wish to strike the clause, I would refuse to 
work  for him. Moreover, I consider the field products to be public property to 
be  cared for by the information center. I did receive a telephone call from 
a lad  at the local Sempra Energy Company demanding copies of all field notes 
from a  job I did more than 30-years ago, but I simply told him to pound sand. 
Here are  my personal priorities: (1) The resource, which I consider my  
primary client; (2) The agency who caused the work to be conducted; (3) The  
profession (RPA, ACRA, etc.); (4) The paying client, as long as it does not  
conflict with the RPA standards and I retain the field notes etc. I know, some  of 
you consider it amusing that I speak for the archaeology/history sites, but  
that is just how I am.
 
Ron May
Legacy 106, Inc.