Overreaching Clauses for Musicians

[Contestant(s)] irrevocably assign and transfer to the Sponsor and its agents, licensees and assignees all rights in the Video, including, without limitation, all copyrights; grant to the Sponsor and its agents, licensees and assigns the right to reproduce, publish, broadcast/use, adapt, delete, edit and/or modify the Video in any manner or format, for any programming, publicity, advertising and promotional purposes, and in any and all media worldwide in perpetuity, in all languages and versions, and without additional consideration, [Contestant] unconditionally assigns and transfers all ideas, concepts, copyrighted materials and trademarks contained in the Video and any and all rights including “moral rights” in the Video to Sponsor and its agents, licensees and assigns. Sponsor and its agents, licensees and assigns have the right to use, assign, modify, edit, adapt, dispose, and electronically alter the Video, including bur not limited to, for moral rights, to appear in promotional and/or commercial materials, as well as to reproduce them, in whole or in part, without compensation or additional consent from me or any third party.

I unconditionally assign and transfer all ideas, concepts, copyrighted materials and trademarks contained in the Video and any and all rights including “moral rights” in the Video to Sponsor and its agents, licensees and assigns. Sponsor and its agents, licensees and assigns have the right to use, assign, modify, edit, adapt, dispose, and electronically alter the Video, including bur not limited to, for moral rights, to appear in promotional and/or commercial materials, as well as to reproduce them, in whole or in part, without compensation or additional consent from me or any third party.

Caveat contestant! This is a release form from a song-writing contest. The contestant who sends in a video of herself singing her song assigns all the rights in the video to the sponsor of the contest (the "Sponsor"). The sponsor can then make every conceivable kind of use of, and make any kind of change to, the video, throughout the world, forever, and without paying the contestant. The rights transferred to the do not appear to be limited to the exploitation of the video, but would include the rights in the music apart from the video.

Furthermore, it says that the entrant transfers any copyrights she holds in the video she is submitting to the sponsoring company and that the sponsor may use the video in any way it wants without paying the contestant anything. It also mentions that the contestant assigns any moral rights she may have in the work. The United States does not recognize moral rights per se and, therefore, this clause is moot. (For more information on moral rights, click here.) (Furthermore, it should be noted that moral rights cannot be assigned in jurisdictions that do honor them.)

All Master Recordings recorded during the Term which embody the performances of Artist, from the inception of the recording thereof, and all artwork ("Artwork") created for use on or in connection with Phonograph Records or other derivatives of such Master Recordings, shall be deemed "works made for hire" for [XYZ Company]. All such Master Recordings, from the inception of the recording thereof, and all Phonograph Records and other reproductions made therefrom, together with the performances embodied therein, and all Artwork, and all copyrights therein and thereto, and all renewals and extensions thereof, shall be entirely [XYZ Company's] property, free of any claims whatsoever by Grantor, Artist, or any other Person, throughout the world and in perpetuity. Accordingly, [XYZ Company] shall have the exclusive right to obtain registration of copyright (and all renewals and extensions) in those Master Recordings and in all Artwork, in [XYZ Company's] name, as the owner and author thereof. If for any reason any such Master Recording(s) or Artwork are deemed not to be "works made for hire", then Grantor and Artist hereby irrevocably assign to [XYZ Company] all of Grantor's and Artist's right, title and interest in and to such Master Recordings and Artwork (including, without limitation, all copyright therein, and all renewals and extensions thereof). Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, [XYZ Company] and its subsidiaries, affiliates, licensees and designees shall have the sole and exclusive right, throughout the world and in perpetuity, to manufacture Records, by any method(s) now or hereafter known embodying all or any portion(s) of the performances embodied on such Master Recordings and/or all or any portion(s) of any such Artwork; to publicly perform such Records; to import, export, sell, transfer, lease, license, rent, deal in or otherwise dispose of or exploit such Master Recordings, Artwork and Records derived therefrom throughout the world under any trademarks, trade names or labels designated by [XYZ Company]; to edit or adapt such Master Recordings and/or Artwork to conform to the technological or commercial requirements of Phonograph Records in various formats now or hereafter known or developed, or to eliminate material which might subject [XYZ Company] to any civil or criminal action; to exploit such Master Recordings for background music, synchronization in motion pictures and television soundtracks and other similar purposes, including, without limitation, use on transportation facilities, without any additional payments to Artist or Grantor other than as expressly set forth in [the discussion of royalty payments herein]; or, notwithstanding the provisions of this agreement, [XYZ Company] and its subsidiaries, affiliates and licensees may, at their election, delay or refrain from doing any one or more of the foregoing.

This contract not only demands a total assignment of rights in the musical recording, it also categorizes the recording (and accompanying artwork) as a "work made for hire," which means that the actual creator has no copyright whatsoever. There is, however, some uncertainty concerning whether musical recordings are in fact "works made for hire." If, under the law, they are not, then saying they are in a contract won't make it so.