Contract Question

tylerdurden94

Hey folks as the title refers my question is in relation to a contract a company wants me to sign, I'm looking to get a solicitor to look at it as I want to be 100% sure of what I'm signing and not doing it without proper input. It's the first time a company has wanted me to sign over copyright of my photos but I've read through it and it's looking for intellectual property rights, I've signed a contract in the past for a different company which gave them usage rights but this one is very heavily favoured to them over me and I'd like to be able to get some amendments to it.

Should I be able to go to any solicitor that deals with this or is there anybody out there that deals with photographers?

Homer

A generic solicitor will look over any legal contract and explain it in layman terms but if you are signing away your IP rights then maybe a solicitor who specialises in that are might be a better call.

tylerdurden94

Homer wrote: »

A generic solicitor will look over any legal contract and explain it in layman terms but if you are signing away your IP rights then maybe a solicitor who specialises in that are might be a better call.

That's what I'm trying to figure out if there is a specialist in this field.

CabanSail

There was a member of the Camera Club I was in that has specialist knowledge in Media and Copyright Law. She gave the club a very interesting talk. I cannot recall her name but I do know there are lawyer who are well versed in this area.

Just had a look. Search for "Intellectual Property Solicitors Ireland" and a few firms come up.

magicbastarder

i guess - without being in any way an expert in this area - that it might help you to price the job by calculating your base rate for actually attending and taking the photos, and calculating how much extra you would charge for handing the photos over in terms of copyright - based on the expected further use of them. if it's just staff headshots, for example, they will not be making further money themselves, but if it was for an intended nationwide ad campaign, you might expect more.

that said - the intended use of the photos could also need the advice of someone knowledgeable in law. model releases, etc., and who is responsible for other legal or statutory issues.

tylerdurden94

CabanSail wrote: »

There was a member of the Camera Club I was in that has specialist knowledge in Media and Copyright Law. She gave the club a very interesting talk. I cannot recall her name but I do know there are lawyer who are well versed in this area.

Just had a look. Search for "Intellectual Property Solicitors Ireland" and a few firms come up.

I'll give that a shot, appreciate the heads up.

magicbastarder wrote: »

i guess - without being in any way an expert in this area - that it might help you to price the job by calculating your base rate for actually attending and taking the photos, and calculating how much extra you would charge for handing the photos over in terms of copyright - based on the expected further use of them. if it's just staff headshots, for example, they will not be making further money themselves, but if it was for an intended nationwide ad campaign, you might expect more.

that said - the intended use of the photos could also need the advice of someone knowledgeable in law. model releases, etc., and who is responsible for other legal or statutory issues.

My area is poker, I shoot poker tournaments around the world and it seems over the last while some of the biggest companies are going down the route of wanting ownership over photos. Trying to figure out the price will be interesting & also trying to get the companies to see the difference in owning the copyright and having to pay for it. There isn't as many poker magazines going anymore but there is certainly opportunity to sell photos to other media outlets.

carlpasha

As far as I'm aware, having read a British Journal of Photography article online a couple of years ago, the rights remain with the photographer unless they are an employee such as a company photographer on a salary. The customer pays to use the product usually. As a newcomer to Boards.ie I'm unable to post links or pics, but Google "professional photographers' copyrights" and you should find what you want.
The UK Copyright Service Fact Sheet P-16 will give you an initial framework from which to argue your case.

bren2002

tylerdurden94 wrote: »

I'll give that a shot, appreciate the heads up.
My area is poker, I shoot poker tournaments around the world and it seems over the last while some of the biggest companies are going down the route of wanting ownership over photos. Trying to figure out the price will be interesting & also trying to get the companies to see the difference in owning the copyright and having to pay for it. There isn't as many poker magazines going anymore but there is certainly opportunity to sell photos to other media outlets.

Wow, isn’t there much of a market in that? Who pays for the travel etc.?
Is that a full time job?