Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Washington
Merchandise Licensing Agreement
In 1992 I entered into a licensing
agreement (since misplaced) to
produce, manufacture and
distribute home videos and other
merchandise related to a locally
produced TV program. The
agreement was with the artist who
owns rights to video archives,
naming, etc... Terms were to pay
33% of profit in royalties to
artist/rights owner. I created and
distributed 4 videos for retail and
paid royalty to the owner under
agreement terms. Fast forward to
today...
I now learn that 3 of the video
titles I produced are now being
packaged together with another
program I did not produce, and are
being sold as a compilation. The 3
titles I produced are included in
their entirety. It has become a
strong seller for the business that
is selling them. They are also selling
other related merchandise I
produced under the license
agreement.
Without being able to locate my
copy of the agreement, would you
think I have some rights to the sale
of my productions?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Merchandise Licensing Agreement
Regardless of whether or not you can find your licensing agreement, you would still hold a copyright in your work. Therefore, if the party selling the video is not paying you for use of your work, then they are infringing on your copyright. However, if the work you performed was a work for hire (as that term is defined under copyright law), or your prior agreement stated that all intellectual property rights remained with the licensor (owner of video archive) then you don't have standing to claim copyright infringement.You may also be able to recover if the licensing agreement stated that you had exclusive right to produce, manufacture, and distribute for an indefinite period, and/or on an equitable theory of law, i.e. the current seller is benefiting from your efforts without compensation to you.
I would recommend that you write a letter to the party using the videos stating your claim, and if that doesn't net results seek the help of a qualified attorney. I'd be happy to assist you in that regard.