LAWFLUENCER

A copyright license is a contract where you, the copyright owner, gives permission to a person or business to use your creative work. Obtaining permission from a copyright owner is called “licensing”. One usually needs permission to copy, adapt, share or distribute somebody else’s creative work (for example, music, images, text or video clips).

As the creative you are most likely the “copyright holder” in the transaction. It is important to determine who the copyright holder is. Examples of copyright owners includes: authors, photographers, graphic designers, videographers and artists.

What It Contains:

• Description of the work being licensed

• Duration of use

• Scope of the use - when and where can the work be copied and can it be edited?

• Compensation (royalty) for how you use the work

Example - You are a photographer and are approached by a sunscreen company that wants to use a series of aerial beach photos taken by your on their social media accounts. In order for the company to legally use your photographs, you (the copyright holder), need to give permission to the company to use such images. A copyright license agreement is the best way to provide permission for this limited use.

Synonyms - license to use content, license to use, copyright license contract

A copyright assignment is a contract where you, the creator, transfers full or partial ownership in your creative work to another. This transfer can include the right to display, reproduce, distribute, modify or create a derivative of your original work.

Copyright License vs. Assignment

While it is easy to confuse the two, generally a copyright license is a formal way to give permission to another to use your creative work, whereas a copyright assignment actually transfers specific ownership rights in your creative work to another. What rights you are willing to transfer and what compensation you are receiving, will dictate whether you want to use a copyright assignment or copyright license.

What It Contains:

• Description of the work being assigned

• Duration of transfer

• Scope of the rights that you are transferring - is it a full or partial transfer of your rights?

• Compensation for the creative work and transfer of rights

Example - You are a well known graphic artist and a local bakery wants you to design a logo for them. They are willing to pay $2,000 for the logo and plan on using the logo on their aprons, menus, website and social media accounts. In this situation, the bakery will want full ownership to the copyright of the logo. A copyright assignment referencing the transfer of copyright ownership and the payment to be received by you is the best contract to memorialize this transaction.

Synonyms - copyright assignment contract, assignment of copyright

A non-disclosure agreement is a contract in which a person or business promises to treat certain information as confidential and not disclose it without the proper approvals. This type of contract is frequently used when two parties want to discuss a potential business transaction and need to share confidential information and materials as part of that discussion.

What It Contains:

• Definition of what “confidential information” actually means - is it limited to written materials or what is said as well?

• Duration of the restriction - when does the contract end and for how long does the information need to remain confidential?

• Permitted use of the information

• Remedies for what happens if the information is wrongfully leaked

TYPES:

• Unilateral NDA - is used when only one party is sharing confidential information. Unilateral means “one-way”.

• Example - creative director wants to share its strategy and design layouts for a marketing campaign tailored to a specific influencer.

• Mutual NDA - is used when both parties will exchange confidential information with the other.

• Example - influencer wants to share its private rate card with a creative director and the creative director wants to share its strategy and design layouts for a marketing campaign tailored to a the influencer.

Synonyms - confidentiality agreement, confidential disclosure agreement, proprietary information agreement, NDA

A photo release is a contract where a photographer or business receives authorization from an individual in a photo to use their image for commercial use. A property release is a contract where a photographer or business receives authorization from the owner of certain private property (dog, neighbor’s private garden, vintage car) to use an image featuring the property, for commercial use.

When you need it:

• A photo/property release is required if you can recognize the subject (person or private property) in the image and the photo will be used for commercial purposes, advertising, or to promote something, or if the subject in the photo is under age 18 and you intend to use the photo commercially.

• Please note, you cannot legally photograph people in private places without their expressed permission

When you don’t:

• If you take a photo in public and the people in the photo are not recognizable and you do not plan on using the photo for commercial use.

What It Contains:

• Permission to take a photo

• Scope of photo usage

• Compensation (royalty) for using the photo

Example - You are a photographer and are well known for your interior design photography. A home was recently built in your town and the owner is okay with you photographing the inside and featuring it on your social media accounts. Since this is private property and you plan on using the photo for commercial purposes (to promote your portfolio and brand), you need to obtain a property release form from the homeowner.

Synonyms - model release form, model license agreement, photo license