Note from the managing partner:
Dear T-Cubed colleagues: I asked our paralegal to scour the internet and databases for potential examples of short-form copyright assignments and copyright work-for-hire agreements. The paralegal tells me that sometimes lawyers will also combine the two, so that the contract is a work-for-hire agreement with a backup assignment. Cool. The paralegal cautioned me, however, not to combine the documents unless there is some basis under copyright law to claim work for hire.
I leave it to your trusty discretion regarding which form(s) to use and how to adapt them. As a former partner of mine said, it is your responsibility to make sure that you understand the purpose and meaning of every word in the final work product. Using a form without making your own independent, informed professional judgment regarding each and every word is prima facie malpractice. You don’t know whether the author of the form you use was a wizard or a fool, and you don’t know whether it was drafted for a very different situation. I haven’t reviewed these forms, I don’t understand them, and I make absolutely no guarantee to their utility.
Having said that, I hope these give you a head start.
Short form assignments:
- Bloomberg. Go to https://www.bloomberglaw.com. Click on “Practice Centers” tab, then select “Intellectual Property.” Then select “Transactional Resources.” There are a number of categories of agreements, some of which might be useful in the categories of copyright and intellectual property agreements.
- WestLaw. Select “practice areas” tab and then “intellectual property.” On right, select “sample agreements.” Search from there.
- Lexis. In Lexis Advance search bar, try a relevant search such as “copyright assignment” or other useful search. Then select “forms” from the left. Peruse results for useful items.
- http://www.copylaw.com/forms/copyassn.html
- http://hiphopproduction.com/contracts/doc/copyright_assignment__short_form.doc
- https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1309152/000094344005000069/exh10110.txt
- http://www.biztree.com/doc/assignment-of-copyright-D755
- You might find others online via some intelligent searching.
Work for hire agreements.
- Use techniques above for Bloomberg, Lexis, and Westlaw.
- https://www.rocketlawyer.com/sem/work-for-hire-agreement.rl
- http://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/work-for-hire-short-form-60396/
- https://www.docracy.com/4834/work-for-hire-agreement
- http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2012/08/free-download-useful-legal-documents-for-designers-pdf/
- http://www.patentek.com/artist-work-for-hire-agreement/
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Posted Sept. 19, 2016