Execs, lawyers, agents, fellow scribes -- HELP!

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  • Execs, lawyers, agents, fellow scribes -- HELP!

    So I have just been offered a job on an animated TV show for a studio -- hold the applause, it isn't a writing gig, it's admin support.

    HOWEVER --

    A piece of paperwork has been placed in front of me requiring me to disclose all projects I am/have ever/will ever work on to the Human Resources Dept. Further, it states if I do not do this, those properties (or their 'enhancements') not disclosed will become property of Studio X.

    OK, so that last part freaks me out. But once you get past that ridiculous scare-tactic/DOOM wording of that last part --

    The reason, so the letter says, is they are trying to determine a 'conflict of interest'. But how do they figure that out? Do they run my stuff against a database somewhere deep in the cold, black heart of the studio and try to make sure it's not too close to anything they are working on? And if it is, then what?

    In part it seems to be saying that by having this list, they have verifiable documentation about who owns any portion of a project I am working on. ( I thought I had that when I registered with the US Library of Congress for copyright ) So what does that do for them? Is this perhaps to avoid the possibility of a lawsuit of some sort?

    I figured somebody here HAS to have run across this before --either themselves, or with clients or somebody they know.

    What does it MEAN? Is it just studio CYA? Again how do they determine a conflict and what do they do if there is deemed to be one? (Just so you know, I have never written anything close to the show I am going to be working on. I am aware, however the studio doesn't know that at this point)

    I have an HR Orientation next week but I was hoping to have a sense of what I was looking at before I get there.

    Any opinions or advice would be appreciated..... the simple fact is, I want/need the job. I just wanna know what I have to sign and disclose with some perspective other than the studios as to why. And while I'm sure HR will give me the company line again at orientation (I already got it once) about how it's really nothing, I'd love to hear from anyone who has seen this before so I get a different take.

    Even if all that someone says is 'don't sweat it'.....

    Thanks

  • #2
    I'm not speaking from experience so I'll say up front this is a bit of a guess.

    Would they be talking about disclosure of "projects" that you have worked on in a professional capacity?

    That would make sense to me because it would protect them from getting sued if they had either "stolen" you from another animated show or if subsequent to your hire, a rival studio tries to hire you away.

    It seems to me to be a defense against/in conjunction with non-disclosure agreements you may have signed in the past and will sign with them, as well as protection against, for lack of a better term, creative espionage.

    I don't think such an agreement would apply to your own writing that you have copyrighted or registered and I don't see that you would have to disclose it (or that they would be interested) in any scripts you have written that have not been sold or optioned.

    that's my guess - congrats on the job

    If I'm wrong and they own your ass, I suggest you march into the studio head's office with all of your scripts, drop them on his desk, and say "You bought 'em! Which one are we shooting first?"

    "I got a hundred writers that can give me that Barton Fink feeling!"

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    • #3
      I have to agree with Jim Jim. I work at a cable network, and signed a similar agreement when I joined the company. Truthfully, what this network does and what I do are so opposite, I wasn't really worried. But its not your ideas they want. It's their ideas they are protecting.

      But I would only list - as Jim Jim noted - any projects you have worked on in a professional capacity. I mean, your ideas are your own and you really don't have to spill that to anyone.

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      • #4
        Sounds like a "work product" clause, basically saying that anything you cook up while there is theirs.

        I dunno. Take the job.

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        • #5
          lawyers

          You can look for entertainment lawyers on www.lawyer.com or you can call the California Bar Association.

          Basically, I think they're trying to protect themselves from you having access to their material and then deciding to write something similiar and sell it.

          Congradulations on the job.

          Would they just be asking to see loglines of any scripts you might have?

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