copyright name on dvd covers

G

googlei

New member
Hi,

I have a question about placing business name onto the dvd covers.

here is the story... we have a small group (me and 2 other friends) starting out doing business shooting video for weddings, as for just starting out on this business not much customer yet. We know a photography place that can be a middle man that can bring us customers. Last week we shoot a wedding for $500 (this middle man company, they offered us $500) its a lot less than what we charged if we were to deal directly to the customer, so we accept $500 for that job.

after editing the videos and dvd covers and burned to dvd and handed the dvd to the 'middle man', he look at the dvd cover and said that he want us to take out our business name and put his business name on the back of the dvd cover instead of our (what an a**hole). do I have the right to say no ?? or how do I deal with him ? I want to say F.U to him in the face.. but thats not too professional. I'm pretty sure that I have the right to say no am i wrong ?, but I dont know how to talk to him and explain to him thats not how it works (or if thats how that work ?) because of my english being the worst.
 
no, he's perfectly within his "right" to put his business name on there. that's what middle men with contacts do. think of it this way, the client came to him for a service and he hired you as a corporate loan-out to do the work. by putting your business on there, you are attempting to circumvent his relationship with his client, and he obviously recognizes that.
 
Ok, so he has the right to have his business name on the covers, but on my part of being a videographer and editor and producer, do I have any rights to put my name on it ? ex.. film by...xxx or edit by xxx ??
 
Well, yes and no. It depends on the arrangement you have with the middle man. This should have been worked out long ago...

I work at a company that often does creative work for a business communications company, and this company hires us to pretend to be one of their departments. We don't get to put our name on anything, but we get lots of business from them (because we're better than their own creative communications unit), so it's a trade-off.

But... the arrangement is worked out in advance.
 
What you did is probably classified as a "work for hire." It is not your property, it is not your job, the client is not your client. The client is the middleman's client, the company that owns the work is the middleman. He hired you to create the work, therefore the work is his.

If you want any other understanding, other credits, or anything like that -- well, you have to negotiate that in the contract.
 
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