Photographers have to be careful that they sell no more than they intend for the cash amount agreed. Unscrupulous - or perhaps incompetent - clients may grab additional rights by pre-emptively issuing an invoice to themselves for what they want to buy, at the price they want to pay. But some clients have been known to use the small print to impose different contract terms, as above. Self-Billed "invoices" - these are widely used in publishing, and are often convenient to both parties.Quoting the PO number on an invoice could be taken as acceptance of these altered terms unless the photographer specifically rejects them.
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Purchase Orders - clients frequently use the small print on these to impose terms quite different from those agreed (often verbally) with the photographer.There are some tricks that photographers should look out for in particular: The client may wish to renegotiate terms before the commission is undertaken, but photographers should not accept clients' attempts to renegotiate them after the work is started, or simply to impose their own terms retrospectively. A rather less obvious reason for doing it is to prevent third parties buying an insolvent client's assets - including rights to a photographer's pictures - while escaping their obligations, such as paying the photographer for these rights. Photographers should insert a clause stipulating that no rights whatsoever are sold until their invoice is paid in full. See "Indemnities - challenge them and get insurance ", linked below. It is important that photographers do not indemnify clients against the consequences of their use of the photographers' pictures. Publishers' contracts with rights-grabbing intellectual property clauses often contain equally one-sided indemnity clauses - perhaps banking on many photographers never reading them. Here are two of particular importance: Indemnity clauses Photographers can draw on these to devise their own. Model contracts are available from a number of sources: see below. Rights should be negotiated (see "Negotiating rates and rights" advice for photographers, linked below) and then confirmed in writing. Photographers in their turn are using contracts to place clear limits on the rights they are actually selling. These "rights-grabbing" contracts, if signed, give publishers the rights instead. This grants photographers ownership of the rights in their work, whether commissioned or on spec. Publishers are increasingly presenting contracts when commissioning photographers that aim to get around the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 (see "Copyright advice for photographers", linked below). This business depends largely on personal contact, which makes it difficult to conduct yourself in a manner which is - well, more businesslike.
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And putting things in writing, by clarifying the expectations of both parties, can prevent conflict arising in the first place.Īn email that clearly sets out what is agreed does count as evidence of a contract.įor as long as photographers can remember, most deals have been struck with a handshake (possibly metaphorical) or no more than a phone call or text message. Oral agreements are in theory legally binding: but can be difficult to enforce in court - it comes down to your word against theirs on what the contract is.