Are you a film director and do you need legal advice in creating your director contract? Or are you a production company and would like to hire a director for your project? Or do you need to check the proper acquiring of rights from the director within the scope of a rights clearance?
What we offer
The director of a film or TV production acquires a copyright to the film through his/her activity. This makes it necessary for the producer to be granted all of the relevant usage and editing rights on the basis of the director's contribution. A separate stipulation is practically mandatory for this, particularly for acquiring certain editing and ancillary rights. Also necessary and complex is the regulating of the fee claims and the associated particulars (potential retraction regulations, various compensation models with e.g. base compensation, net proceeds stakes, agreement on a corridor method plan, etc., fee for repetitions, questions of appropriate compensation, as well as the effects of joint compensation regulations and collective wage agreements).
However, with respect to the agreed-upon services to be provided, a precise contractual stipulation is advantageous. Thus, in the director contract, the availability, among other things, during the time of film shooting can be stipulated, regulations in the event of illness and downtime can be set, any obligations with respect to the budget, the shooting schedule, and the costing estimate can be agreed upon, and regulations connected to insurance questions and confidentiality can be stipulated. In addition, agreements on the rights to names and of participation of the director in material and cash prizes and other awards are normally contractually specified.
We can create director contracts and fee agreements for you, support you in contract negotiations, review existing contractual works, and support you in tracking and enforcing your claims.
Scope of service
- Creation, design, and negotiation of legally secure director contracts
- Consulting with respect to the legal options and the strategic procedure
- Examination and assessment of the technical and legal situation
- Representation before all district and regional courts in Germany by means of temporary injunction proceedings and in complaint proceedings
Costs
We normally offer these services to you calculated according to the time spent at a suitable hourly rate. We believe that cost transparency and cost reliability obviously form the basis of successful cooperation. We will be happy to provide you with an estimate of the expected costs and the cost risk before taking the job.
