An end user licence agreement (EULA) is a legal document setting out the basis upon which a person may use software. In this post, I look at the issues EULA-related issues affecting video game developmers and publishers. The focus is on smaller and newer businesses, but much of the discussion is relevant to established businesses too.
I've spent much of today working on a new wedding photographer contract. This is an adapted version of our existing standard terms and conditions for photographers. There are quite a few features of wedding photography documents that differentiate them from other kinds of photography contract. Having been through the adaptation process, I would recommend that any wedding photographer not using a contract specifically adapted for weddings should be thinking about doing so.
Product descriptions and photographs are among the more important aspects of a typical online sales strategy. Descriptions should be clear, informative and fresh; photos should be properly exposed and focused, and large enough enough to show off the products to best effect. But also, descriptions and photos must be legal.
Given the profile of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, there will be a real temptation for businesses of all types to attempt to associate themselves with such a huge event. But beware - all that glitters may not be gold for businesses falling foul of any of the myriad of legislation surrounding the Games. One of the conditions attached to London being awarded the right to hold the Games in 2012 was that the organizers had to deliver a “clean games: LOCOG must be able to prevent any unauthorized use of any Olympic-connected branding.
There are two aspects to photographic copyright: photographs may be protected by copyright, but may also infringe copyright. A photograph of a painting could infringe the copyright in the painting, and a photograph of a photograph could likewise infringe. That much is well-known to most photographers. The position with respect to photographs of other artefacts - buildings, sculptures, designs and products - is less well understood.
One of the great things about copyright is the flexibility of copyright licensing. Copyright licences can be for a particular right, for a particular geographical area, for a particular period, and subject to almost any conditions you can dream up. As a junior lawyer involved in a music industry contract review exercise, I remember seeing a licence in a recording contract that covered the entire universe "excluding Venus". I can't recall the name of the diva who had demanded the reservation of Venusian rights.
