Question about Contracts...Who owns the footage/tapes?

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DVX100Shooter

Veteran
I am dealing with a situation where I was working with some promoters for the last year shooting various shows at the local nightclub. They paid me to show up and shoot the show. They wanted to eventually sit down with me and go through the tapes and pick the best stuff so I could cut a dvd for them. Well it never happened. I have been storing all this footage on my hard drive since November 2007! Now that I parted ways with those guys, they claim all that footage is theirs.

Is it? I mean they paid me to shoot the show, is that the same thing as paying for my footage? There WAS NO WRITTEN CONTRACT or AGREEMENT for this job. If I am not mistaken, I own the tapes. I believe I can give them a dub if I want to but not the tapes.

So if I told them I would put 12 months worth of footage on a external hard drive and make them pay for the Hard drive, and the time I spent transferring all that footage, would I be wrong in doing so?


I am in the process of working with some new promoters and this time I WILL have a contract that clearly states that I own the tapes but will make them dubs if needed.
 
haha this is super funny cause I just went through the exact same thing.. Technically if they paid you to shoot there events its there tapes. However, since there where no contracts or anything I guess its whoever.

The question is why would you want the tapes? I'm sure there is a ton of cool photos but that just seems jacked up to use there event footage for your benefit and they get nothing?

If I was use I would do it Vice-versa, you should get a external HD and give them the tapes.
 
fadedjosh said:
haha this is super funny cause I just went through the exact same thing.. Technically if they paid you to shoot there events its there tapes. However, since there where no contracts or anything I guess its whoever.
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Actually, I believe if there was no contract that states "work for hire", then you own the footage. Now, you might not be able to use the footage because you lack releases for talent, logos, etc.

Read: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Work_for_hire

Matthew
 
If there wasn't a verbal or written contract about who would get the tapes and what product you would deliver to the clients then I would say the footage is yours. This is more of an opinion though then law.

As an example, professional photographers only give you the prints you pay for and if you want all the digital raw images you have to pay for them. In the same vein, it would seem like if you were going to cut a dvd for them of the best stuff and that is what was talked about from the beginning then they should have to pay to get all the raw footage.

You should definitely get payment for storage too.

Hope this works out for you and definitely get everything in writing next time so you don't have to play the 'well we assumed' game later.

Best,
Andy
 
Well I have been storing footage for a year now and they havent made any moves to sit down and go through the footage yet. So I figured I would get an external drive and put all the footage on there then they can have the drive and keep it stored or use it as they wish.

Technically I have no use for the tapes other than creating some sort of promo or to use excerpts in my demo reel or something like that.

So just to be clear for future shoots when I am paid for a shoot, I should basically turn over my tapes when either the shoot is over or when the editing is complete if there is nothing in writing stating otherwise?
 
Remember there's ownership of the intellectual property, the content, which is distinct from the ownership of the phyiscal media that carrys it. When you buy a CD you own the carrier but you don't own the song. Same thing here ... they may own the physical tapes if they reimbursed you for them but you might still own the rights to the content. Best bet is to talk to an attorney if you think the content is of any value to you.
 
Well it might not be of much value to me for this situation but I need to know how to handle this for future projects. From what I have been gathering from a lot of people I have talked to is that when I am paid to do a shoot the person paying also owns the footage. One guy said he happily turns over the tapes and lets them deal with them! LOL!
 
DVX100Shooter said:
Well it might not be of much value to me for this situation but I need to know how to handle this for future projects. From what I have been gathering from a lot of people I have talked to is that when I am paid to do a shoot the person paying also owns the footage. One guy said he happily turns over the tapes and lets them deal with them! LOL!
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It depends on whether it's legally a "work for hire" or not and that's something that is explicitly defined. If you're a regular employee and shoot as part of your regular job assignment, like a TV station cameraman for example, yes, they own the footage. If you're a freelancer and your contract does not explicitly state that you are producing a "work for hire" then often you own the ip rights. Absent other provision, the copyright to a copyrightable work belongs to the creator. What the fee you've been paid buys the client is a license to use it. Transfer of copyright ownership must be in writing so if you want to convey it to your client, put it in your contract.
 
Cut what you can out of the footage for your Reel, wipe the drive for your own use, then ask them for a bid on the tapes.
 
Macville said:
Actually, I believe if there was no contract that states "work for hire", then you own the footage. Now, you might not be able to use the footage because you lack releases for talent, logos, etc.

Read: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Work_for_hire

Matthew
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Ditto Matthew's thoughts. IMHO, the ownership of the footage is secondary - the big question is sync and recording rights. Perhaps your prior business partner realized the complexities and attendant costs of these issues, leading them to abandon the project.

And this time I'm with you Steve, time to engage a lawyer.

Regards, Michael
 
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