What type of form to license my video for TV?? at DVinfo.net

Davis Moore · February 10th, 2009, 10:37 PM

Can anyone point me in the right direction for the name of the licensing agreement, or templates, for licensing my video to be re-edited into a TV show?

Is this best done by consulting with an attorney to personalize the form, or are there pre-made templates out there?

thanks -

Tripp Woelfel · February 11th, 2009, 06:49 AM

You're talking about a potentially complex agreement, one would be quite different depending upon whether you're contracting with a broadcast network versus a local cable access channel. I don't think you provided enough information for the legal minds that populate this board to even hazard a guess on how to proceed.

Paying a good lawyer for pertinent advice would be money well spent, IMO.

Richard Gooderick · February 11th, 2009, 12:24 PM

Davis
Here's a stab at it.
It sounds to me as if you are effectively licencing footage to another party. In which case you could base it on something like this:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/info/site...06_dec_sla.pdf
What you want to do is make sure that you licence it and that you retain the title so that you can relicence it elsewhere if you wish to do so. It is in your interests to restrict the terms as much as possible in exchange for a licence fee. It's a negotiation so it's up to you to get a good deal.
The elements that you will need to negotiate when you grant the licence are:
Duration of licence eg 3 years
Number of transmission
Geographical distribution eg North America
Types of media that you are licencing for eg terrestrial television
However if your video is being remade you may have other rights eg format rights or script rights that you can also licence.
Whatever you do you should make sure that you retain copyright in your work and that you try to keep the licences short and narrow - unless of course you feel that you are being paid well for a long licence.
You may wish to get a lawyer involved depending on how much the deal is worth and how trustworthy the licensee is.

Gints Klimanis · February 11th, 2009, 01:53 PM

Thanks for the BBC document. Usually, companies provide a licensing form which you are free to edit. I always edit them to state that the footage is intended for a particular production and the promotional materials associated with that production. Before I did that, one show (Geraldo at Large) used my footage for another show without informing me. Other news companies (ABC) include a checkbox on their form to allow them to reuse the footage.

Also, ask for a high quality copy of the show within 60 days of initial air date. Some companies will send you a copy of the master tape while others will send you a crappy DVD, both of which you usually have to hound them for. When I say crappy, I mean low bitrate and improper coding of the 16:9 material such that is comes up as 4:3 .

February 10th, 2009, 10:37 PM	#1
Davis Moore New Boot Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: New York, NY Posts: 5	What type of form to license my video for TV?? Can anyone point me in the right direction for the name of the licensing agreement, or templates, for licensing my video to be re-edited into a TV show? Is this best done by consulting with an attorney to personalize the form, or are there pre-made templates out there? thanks -

February 11th, 2009, 12:24 PM	#3
Richard Gooderick Major Player Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: London, UK Posts: 795	Davis Here's a stab at it. It sounds to me as if you are effectively licencing footage to another party. In which case you could base it on something like this: http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/info/site...06_dec_sla.pdf What you want to do is make sure that you licence it and that you retain the title so that you can relicence it elsewhere if you wish to do so. It is in your interests to restrict the terms as much as possible in exchange for a licence fee. It's a negotiation so it's up to you to get a good deal. The elements that you will need to negotiate when you grant the licence are: Duration of licence eg 3 years Number of transmission Geographical distribution eg North America Types of media that you are licencing for eg terrestrial television However if your video is being remade you may have other rights eg format rights or script rights that you can also licence. Whatever you do you should make sure that you retain copyright in your work and that you try to keep the licences short and narrow - unless of course you feel that you are being paid well for a long licence. You may wish to get a lawyer involved depending on how much the deal is worth and how trustworthy the licensee is. __________________ http://www.gooderick.com

February 11th, 2009, 06:49 AM	#2
Tripp Woelfel Trustee Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: North Conway, NH Posts: 1,745	You're talking about a potentially complex agreement, one would be quite different depending upon whether you're contracting with a broadcast network versus a local cable access channel. I don't think you provided enough information for the legal minds that populate this board to even hazard a guess on how to proceed. Paying a good lawyer for pertinent advice would be money well spent, IMO.

February 11th, 2009, 01:53 PM	#4
Gints Klimanis Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 2,222	Thanks for the BBC document. Usually, companies provide a licensing form which you are free to edit. I always edit them to state that the footage is intended for a particular production and the promotional materials associated with that production. Before I did that, one show (Geraldo at Large) used my footage for another show without informing me. Other news companies (ABC) include a checkbox on their form to allow them to reuse the footage. Also, ask for a high quality copy of the show within 60 days of initial air date. Some companies will send you a copy of the master tape while others will send you a crappy DVD, both of which you usually have to hound them for. When I say crappy, I mean low bitrate and improper coding of the 16:9 material such that is comes up as 4:3 .