If a copyrighted work is created on behalf of a person, whether it is an employer or a third party, it is a “commissioned work”. Under the “commissioned work” exception, the person (or entity) for whom the work was created is considered the copyright owner of the work, not the author himself. It is forbidden for the author to attempt to apply for an injunction if you violate the employment contract for the rental. An “injunction” is an order of a court that forces the other party to engage in or terminate any activity. Without this clause, the author may be able to obtain an injunction and stop distributing the image if his credit is wrongly excluded. A “No Unfounded Measure” clause states that the author can only receive monetary damages from you if you violate the employment agreement on behalf of others, but is not allowed to seek an injunction. The writer`s credit appears on screen in the position just before the director`s credit and in paid commercials when the director or producers are named, subject to the usual distributor exclusions that exclude paid and award-winning/congratulatory commercials. If you want to work with a more experienced writer and can afford it, hire a WGA member. Offer to pay him the small budget compared to the higher budget reserve price, as you can make an argument for not knowing the production budget before the script is written. Keep in mind that on behalf of the author of the WGA, you must pay a pension and health contribution of 17% that goes beyond the remuneration you pay under the employment contract for remuneration. The following points should be addressed with an author`s contract: If you are a freelance writer who creates a work in one of the above categories, it is important that you understand the terms of a proposed agreement for the creation of the work.
At the very least, clarify the terms of the contract before starting the project. Does the agreement contain the phrase “work for hire” or “work done for hire or reward” or “specially ordered or commissioned”? Does the examination have subsequent confirmation with such wording to reclassify a work as a “commissioned work”? If the agreement is not a “commissioned work”,”does the agreement transfer the author`s copyright in the work? If the commissioned work does not fall into one of the above categories, a “commissioned work” agreement generally does not result in the work becoming a commissioned work. For example, a non-fiction novel or book does not fall within the scope of the categories and is not considered a “commissioned work”. Writers who are members of the Writers Guild of America (“WGA”), the union to which professional writers belong, are prohibited from selling or collaborating with companies that are not signatories to the WGA. A WGA signatory company is a production company that has completed the WGA signature application and obtained WGA signatory status. By becoming a signatory, your production company agrees to abide by WGA rules and regulations. Your production company is limited to hiring WGA members. WGA members may not pay less than the minimum remuneration required by the WGA Basic Agreement; and is required to make pension and health contributions on behalf of the authors commissioned by you (17% of the remuneration paid).12 The foregoing is not exhaustive. Please refer to the WGA Basic Agreement for all WGA rules and regulations, including lists of minimums for wage rates.
You are free to hire whoever you want if you are not a signatory to a union. It is the trade unionist who is prevented from working with you, not the other way around. Nevertheless, I advise against hiring union members, as it usually causes more problems than is worth it, unless the union member has the status of “financial core” or “core”. Core union members have the opportunity to work with non-signatory companies that may offer them lower compensation and benefits than their union guarantees. Hiring a core member is like hiring a non-member of the union. Author`s Collaboration Agreement An agreement between the parties to collaborate on a story, treatment, screenplay or other original work. The low-budget agreement allows screenwriters to write and sell a feature film narrative script under the protection of the Writers Guild if the film`s budget is equal to or less than $1.2 million. (Note: Registration required) If a freelancer submits an article that is not solicited, the work is by definition not considered a “commissioned work” under copyright law.
Any agreement after submission cannot change this fact. However, a post-submission agreement can be considered a transfer of the author`s copyright in the article to publication. You can allocate credits at will if you hire a non-WGA member to write your script. However, since I find the WGA`s credit rules so fair, I suggest my clients implement them for credit determination. I include a clause in the contract of employment for hire or reward that states that screen credit is determined in accordance with WGA rules. You can learn more about author contracts for online and offline writing, check out the resources available through the HTML Writer`s Guild. Ownership of employment and intellectual property: The author agrees that each submission is a work made for rent. Upon submission of the Work by the Author, all intellectual property rights in the Submission shall be the sole and exclusive property of Scripted, and Scripted shall be deemed to be the author thereof.
If the Author has any rights in such intellectual property rights that do not belong to Scripted at the time of the Author`s submission, the Author irrevocably transfers to Scripted all right, title and interest in such intellectual property rights worldwide. Except in the cases listed below, the Author does not reserve any right to use these intellectual property rights and undertakes not to contest the validity of Scripted`s ownership of these intellectual property rights. Author hereby waives all moral rights, rights of authorship, integrity, disclosure and redemption or inalienable rights under applicable law in and to the Submission. You can offer the author a “Setup Up”, a “Box Office Bonus” and/or a “Nomination/Awards Bonus” that will help soften the deal and cost you nothing out of your pocket. .