In this section, we look at the parts of contracts that deal with copyrights. We have contracts that address the works of writers, photographers, video producers, and contributors to contests and user-generated content sites. We are continually adding more examples, and hope to cover a greater range of creators. If you’d like to send us some examples you have encountered, please contact us.
We have taken the contracts’ language verbatim, tried to explain it in plain English, and rated each clause on its friendliness towards creators. In most cases we have removed the names of the parties to the contracts, but where the contract was freely available on the Internet, the name of the publisher/distributor who proffered the form contract continues to appear.
Below, we have defined the types of clauses we have samples of, so that you can sort among our offerings. You can also sort by the type of creator you are, or by the creator-friendliness of the clause.
Exclusive Use
As the term suggests, exclusive use clauses are contractual language that gives away an exclusive right -- and therefore is sometimes said to create an “assignment” of the right -- the author him or herself loses the right.
These are some of the most important clauses, for it is through exclusive right assignments that an author gives up all of his or her rights.
Non-Exclusive Use
These clauses share the designated rights in the work between the creator and the other party. They are generally less “dangerous” than grants of exclusive rights, yet still warrant attention because many (if not most) contracts containing these clauses do not require the other party to get the creator’s approval for any of the other party’s exploitations.
Many or most of these contracts do not oblige the other party to pay the creator for those exploitations.
Grant Back
A “grant back” is a clause that gives some rights back to an author subsequent to an assignment of “exclusive use.” In other words, after you’ve given your rights away, sometimes contracts will have language giving you the rights to use your work after a specified period of time has elapsed. Sometimes the contract grants back exclusive rights; more often, it grants back non-exclusive rights.
New Media Rights
Clauses relevant to new media rights are designed to allocate control over new technological means of exploiting works. When a new technology comes along -– for example, a contract grants the right to “print” a book, and then digital media appear on the scene -- does the grant of the right include the new media, or not?
Many contracts “solve” this problem by specifying that the assignment of the rights in question extends to “all media now or hereafter known or developed.” This is meant to capture any possible media invented in the future.
Changes to the Work
These are clauses that allocate ownership and control over works created that are based on the original work.
Geographic Scope
These clauses describe the geographic reach of the grant of rights. For example, “North America,” or “throughout the world,” or even, in some contracts (we’re not making this up!) “the Universe.”
Duration of Grant
While commonly so, assignments of rights need not be forever (“forever” meaning the duration of the copyright term). (Other ways of saying “forever” include “perpetual”) Some contracts take exclusive rights for a period of time (for example, one year) and then allow the rights to revert to the author. Sometimes, the time line may be more complicated: the grant of exclusive rights may last for a limited period, but the other party's retention of non exclusive rights after that period may last for the full duration of the copyright.
General Assignment of Copyright
These are common, but dangerous, clauses for authors: they take away the entire copyright. Beware!
Notice
These are important contractual clauses that create a right for the author that is not clearly in the copyright code: the right to be credited as the author of the work. Contracts that grant rights back to the author, or which share rights with the author, may also require the author who recycles all or part of the work to credit the original source of publication.
Works Made for Hire
These clauses make the most drastic changes in the creator's status: by designating the work in question a “work-for-hire” the contract transfers all copyright rights away from the creator and to the “employer.” The "employer" is not necessarily limited to the person or company that pays the creator a regular salary; under certain circumstances, the person or company that commissions freelance creators, can also be the “employer for hire.” If the work is “for hire,” all doubts about ownership of rights are resolved against the actual creator. Given the extreme exploiter-friendliness of the “works made for hire” designation, work-for-hire language can be found even when, under the copyright statute, the work in question is not eligible to be a work for hire.
Reversion of Rights
These clauses can have the same effect as a grant-back in that they put the rights back in the hand of the author at some point. The difference is that there is typically a trigger for reversion, such as a book going “out of print,” or the statutory termination right under the Copyright Act, which the creator has to activate. If the creator does nothing, the rights generally remain with the grantee. You can learn more about getting your rights back on our page on the topic.