Michael DBA Expressions wrote:
Is there some reason for not asking your legal questions of a properly licensed attorney in your jurisdiction in Germany?

Getting legal advice from faceless non-lawyers in an internet forum, especially when the lions' share of those faceless entities are from other countries, is more or less a form of legal suicide. 99.9% of the advice you get here will only get you in deeper trouble when/if you wind up duking it out in court. Find out the real deal and save yourself a LOT of grief: ask a licensed and practicing attorney.

THIS!

IOWASCENE wrote:
it is not that big deal and the contract is quite clear n short. thats why i thought its not a problem for someone who's working with an agency to answer this question.

except that you need someone who knows german contract law and german copyright law that's dealing with a german agency

http://www.touring-artists.info/fileadm … rtists.pdf

If German copyright applies, the moral rights cannot be assigned – only
individual exploitation rights can be granted.

Under German copyright law, the artist has the right to reasonable
compensation. The fee for the activity performed by the artist and the
compensation for the exploitation rights should be included in the contract.

Although oral agreements are possible, it is always better to have a written

http://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/engli … index.html

IOWASCENE wrote:
Guys, first of all i dongt know where u get the information that the contract is connected to germany... Like i said im currently living n working not in ger.

Can someone just read over the contract and tell me his/her opinion? Takes 5 mins... (:
Ill send a pn then.

In a work for hire situation copyright laws and ownership are a bit tricky.

You should take it to a local attorney or discuss it with an attorney in the area where the contract was drafted and signed. Laws and legal advice change with location. What we think is based entirely on our own experience and knowledge of our local laws which could be vastly different and thus getting advice from one of us could seriously hurt your case.

Take it to a local lawyer and pay for the consult. You're buying information for the future and you could be saving yourself a lot of money in either having to sue the agency or by getting sued if you're in the wrong.

IOWASCENE wrote:
Can someone just read over the contract and tell me his/her opinion?

You don't get it, do you?

IOWASCENE
Posts: 4
Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Since, as you say, you are not in Germany, the venue issue is wide open. Germany, at least has a moral rights clause, which make the "work for hire" advice given here totally invalid and completely useless - if it were in Germany.

Without a clear venue, there can be no good advice. If let's say, the contract was in Vietnam, I would say, good luck on that; because whoever pays the best bribe or has better connections wins. No venue, no valid advice can be given.

Ask an incomplete question and you get wrong answers.

IOWASCENE wrote:
hello guys!

i've got some questions about my situation between me as photographer and a model agency.

I worked for an agency as "developer" and got still a continuously contract with them.

now we got a fight and i'll terminate the contract.
my question is, if the agency will got the right to publish my work/photos after this particular contract is terminated.

but no matter if the contract is running or not... i think there's nothing written about the rights of the photos and publications.

its a short contract so i could copy/paste it here or just pn??

maybe someone was in a similar situation...

looking forward for some response

Law aside, it's a dick move to allow them to believe they can use the photos and then withdraw permission.

Maybe they've pulled a dick move first. If they have and they manage to turn you in to a dick in response, you're still a dick.


Without knowing the specifics I can't really offer an opinion on your or their behavior, but you're better off taking the high road. Maybe the bridges are burned between you and the key person, but there are other people who will see your response and they may be the ones to contact you with a cool opportunity years from now - unless you give them a reason to believe you're the problem.

IOWASCENE wrote:
Guys, first of all i dongt know where u get the information that the contract is connected to germany... Like i said im currently living n working not in ger.

Can someone just read over the contract and tell me his/her opinion? Takes 5 mins... (:
Ill send a pn then.

As I pointed out to you in my PM because there are factors that may make the work subject to German copyright law [or not]; and the contract may be governed by other than German law, [or not.] And it can make a difference if through the contract you became an employee, [or not.] And if the work was published at all, how and where, [or not.]

It is not as simple a question you are asking as you may think.

Studio36

IOWASCENE wrote:
i understand all the stuff u're saying here... and its not because of money who might someone think why didn't go to a lawyer yet.

im pretty relaxed with this subject and don't want to make a big deal. buuuut depends on how the key person will act next time!

just wanted to know where im roughly are with this ending contract. when things go out of control, a lawyer will be my best friend

so i have no problem with that they publish my photos and yee its a good thing for maybe new clients!  but if someone is making bad moves, i have to act...

Typical of the kinds of situations one can get into. I have a client in Austria who has had various arrangements with a videographer in Czech over a number of years.

1: For a period of time the Czech guy was an actual employee of the Austrian guy. No problem, under Austrian law the copyright belonged to the Austrian guy as the employer;

THEN

2: The Austrian guy terminated the employment contract and the Chech guy became an independent contractor. He was still filming for the Austrian, but no longer an employee, and the productions were taking place in Czech, giving rise to a Czech copyright owned by the Czech guy alone. A copyright can not normally be transferred in Austria under Austrian law, and Austrian law will not recognise such a transfer to an Austrian entity, though a Czech copyright can be sold and transferred under Czech law. In one instance in Austria, however, under the Cessio Legis rule recognised in Austria - ONLY for motion pictures / video commissioned and intended for commercial exploitation - there is actually a provision for a route to a mandatory exploitation license rather than an assignment of the underlying copyright, so there was still little in the way of issues for the Austrian guy's use of the Czech guy's work; it was all done by contract.

THEN

3: The arrangement changed again and the Czech guy became fully independent of the Austrian guy, where then the Czech guy produced what he wanted and when he wanted, on spec rather than specifically commissioned by the Austrian. When that happened and where the Czech guy then could produce independently and sell as he pleased, there needed to be a new arrangement. The Austrian guy set up a holding company in Germany which acquires and holds the rights to some, but not all, of the Czech guy's work and in turn the holding company leases it to the Austrian company for a monthly payment. Payment passes from the the Austrian company to the German holding company and then to the Czech guy

All this is meant to illustrate the very important interaction between the contractual arrangements and the copyright laws that apply in, first, the Austrian employment arrangement - Austrian law only; then the Austrian-Czech arrangement - Czech law balanced against Austrian law and vice versa employing the Cessio Legis rule; and lastly the Austrian-German-Czech arrangement in which ownership of the underlying copyright becomes of little importance but the licensing / leasing arrangement alone takes all the strain.

Studio36