Legal Question in Entertainment Law in California

I wrote a script and the producer wants me to transfer the rights in the script to him so he can raise money from investors. I do not want to transfer any rights until I can be represented by an attorney who does these kinds of deals all the time and has the right kind of expertise. I cannot afford an attorney until I am paid for the script. I have no idea what rights to grant (sell or license, etc.) and what rights to withhold, or how much I should get paid for what I do grant. Does anyone know how issues like this are handled?


Asked on 10/23/09, 12:39 am

2 Answers from Attorneys
Gordon Firemark Law Offices of Gordon P. Firemark

The way issues like this are handled is that the producer PAYS (a modest option price) for an initial option period of 6-12 months in which to secure full financing for the production. Then, when/if he's successful, he pays a larger purchase price for the full package of rights prior to actually filming the movie.

Writers should NOT grant any rights to a producer without compensation.

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Answered on 10/28/09, 12:28 pm
OCEAN BEACH ASSOCIATES OCEAN BEACH ASSOCIATES

You may also grant a limited license of your copywrited material with a baloon payment required prior to production. Contacte directly.

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Answered on 10/28/09, 4:09 pm


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