Clearly, the tension between these three forms of compensation, for both the producer and the author, may offer the possibility of finding a common point from which the risks and possibilities of exploiting history rights can be shared. For example, a low option price allows a producer to start developing the project. A reasonable purchase price compensates for the producer`s budgetary and financial concerns with the author`s desire for fair compensation. Conditional remuneration can give the author the certainty that if the production is successful, he will be able to participate in this success. Acquiring history rights is often the first step in the development of a film, TV movie, or other creative work. Since history is the foundation of a successful production, it is important to secure the underlying history rights from the beginning. The term “rights of life” encompasses all the personal details and characteristics that make up a human being`s life, such as his or her image, name and experience. These films, biopics and other real-life projects have sparked a new industry discussion about life history rights, abbreviated as “Life Rights”. You are a creative person who has learned from someone with a captivating story, and you want to develop a book, TV show or movie based on their life.
But in the midst of your excitement and creative excitement, it strikes you: “Maybe I need to ask permission first. But how? » Find out what you need to know about life Rights Agreements and how they can help you develop your project and minimise the risk of problems on the road. If your script is based on a book, magazine article, or other published work, this includes the option or purchase of the film rights from the author (or publisher or other owner if it is a loan). If it is based on a life story, you must acquire the rights to the life history of the person concerned. If you base your script on a story reported in the news or in a person`s public life, you may not have to acquire the story rights as long as you use your own research to create the storyline. But even in a book context, acquiring history rights can be a way to get collaboration with the author of a published work or the person whose life story you want to use. Such agreements can also help to avoid defamation and violation of data protection rights in certain situations. A call option agreement usually consists of two documents, an option agreement and a contract of sale, although the provisions of each are sometimes contained in a single document. In both cases, it is very important to negotiate the terms of the sales contract at the same time as the terms of the option.
An option contract that does not contain the specific conditions of purchase is a worthless option: all it gives to the producer is the right to subsequently negotiate the terms of the purchase. The owner of the story rights is not obliged to sell the property unless the essential conditions of the purchase (buyer and seller, purchase price, acquired rights, offer and acceptance) are included either in the option or in an attached sales contract. Useful article…. But.. most of the films mentioned at the beginning are not documentaries. Nevertheless, the info is also useful for “Based on a true story” movies.