Video or other intellectual property rights or assignment ideas?

[gkainz]

I'm working on producing video clips that will be integrated into an interactive training software package developed by another company.

I'm interested in feedback or advice on ways to retain ownership, distribution and property rights on the videos yet allow the software package developer to bundle and distribute these with his package.

Ideas? Thoughts? Pondering options like 1 time additional charge per video, ongoing royalty, selling as an add-on, or other ideas we haven't thought of yet?

 

[write-stuff]

Look up Work Made for Hire doctrine. You will likely have to stipulate in a contract that you retain ownership if the original work is paid for by the client company.

If you're creating the videos on your own nickle, then you sell a license to the client company to use them. You retain ownership, they pay for rights to use them.

 

[gkainz]

We're negotiating an initial set of videos in barter for 1 copy of the software package. I think those will probably be transferred to the package developer with full rights to distribute, as he is essentially buying them. But willing to hear other opinions on that.
We believe it's the follow-on videos that will have greatest residual value, and we believe we can offer custom spec'ed videos for other customers as well.

 

[rpadula]

Agree with the post above. You definitely have to know if you're making a work for hire or not.

I think those will probably be transferred to the package developer with full rights to distribute, as he is essentially buying them. But willing to hear other opinions on that.

Do you know what you're even selling in this case? Essentially buying what? You can always retain the copyright (and should if you can) and offer for sale a license for him to use the videos. The more "rights" you sell, the higher the price. You could also craft the terms of the license to limit him to only redistribute with a specific package. Exclusive vs. non exclusive rights, etc.

We believe it's the follow-on videos that will have greatest residual value, and we believe we can offer custom spec'ed videos for other customers as well.

If you think there's ongoing business value here, please get an IP attorney if you don't know what you're doing.

 

[gkainz]

Definitely not a work for hire situation from what I see reading the Wiki on it.

Let me paint a hypothetical scenario that somewhat mimics what we're thinking about doing.

Startup software company ACME Industries has recently developed a training software package for shipboard emergencies. They have 1 video scenario that walks the crew thru a hull breach. The software and video are interactive, whereas the instructor can select 1 or 2 alternative branches for the video to go, depending on crew response. E.g. crew fails to dog a hatch and video branches to a second compartment flooding.

My brother certifies ships and crews for a myriad of Maritime requirements, and has his head full of scenarios for drills, responses and emergencies based on the training (lecture and demonstration) he conducts.

In exchange for the 1 copy of ACME training software, I agree to film, edit and produce 5 finished scenarios of different emergencies, each with 2 branch videos, scripted by my brother, delivered to ACME. Those 5 videos will be distributed by ACME as part of their basic package.

Ongoing opportunity exists, we believe, to script additional scenarios specific to other types of actions, e.g. certifications specific to oil spill containment (my brother's expertise), fires, etc. Additionally, scenarios filmed on other types of ships with perhaps other types of regulations, including passenger, cruise, ferry, etc. we believe will have ongoing initial revenue opportunity, offered for sale as add-on packages to the initial ACME package, as well as custom scenarios scripted for a specific customer, filmed in their actual environments.

 

[rpadula]

Greg, thanks for the extra details. It still doesn't change my advice to consider using an IP attorney to draw up the documents.

That they give you a copy of their software is just the payment part of the deal. It could be ham sandwiches and it wouldn't affect the other parts.

You don't have to assume giving away "full rights" to the videos to make a sale. Copyrighted material is just weird. It's not like selling a car where the transaction happens and ownership transfers. Since music, photos, videos, books, software, etc can be duplicated, there's the interesting aspect of derivative works.

Suppose there's a ship accident far enough away from any news cameras, and one of your videos represents a what-if depiction of the event. CNN calls and offers some $ to show the clip every day until the daring rescue. Who should get the $? Or maybe one of your clips looks really funny sped up 3x with some Benny Hill music running over it. It gets uploaded to an ad-running YouTube channel. Who should get the ad revenue from that? If you sign away full rights, it will be the person who owns those rights. This is why big copyright owners keep very tight reins on licenses and use of their material. And it's why unlimited, exclusive licenses are more expensive than non-exclusive, limited use licenses.

I'm not suggesting to make this deal unnecessarily complex, but it's just some stuff to weigh in the grand scheme of things.

P.S. IANAL, but have read lots of photo-related copyright issues the last few years, and am currently up to my neck in learning open source licensing.

 

[denverpilot]

P.S. IANAL, but have read lots of photo-related copyright issues the last few years, and am currently up to my neck in learning open source licensing.

I'll save you some time on that one. Use BSD and leave everyone the hell alone.

Be sure to thank the Regents at UC Berkeley for their oh so important work on all of it.

Whatever you do, do not use any of the god-awful massively encumbered GPL derivatives.