Independent Contractor Agreement with a Crew Member
for a Television Production
Agreement made on the ___________________ (date) , between
___________________________ (Name of Crew Member) of __________________
______________________________________________________ (street address,
city, state, zip code) , referred to herein as Crew Member , and __________________
________________ (Name of Production Company) , a corporation organized and
existing under the laws of the state of _________________, with its principal office
located at ____________________________________________________________
___________ (street address, city, state, zip code) , referred to herein as Company .
1. Services
A. Company hereby engages Crew Member to render (describe type of
services) _______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
to Company during the Term hereof. Crew Member will render such services
when, where and as reasonably required by Company and will comply with all
reasonable directions of Company relative thereto. The services to be rendered
by Crew Member hereunder include, but are not limited to, (describe in detail)
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________ .
B. The services to be rendered by Crew Member hereunder shall include all
services usually and customarily rendered by and required of persons
employed in a similar capacity in the television industry as Crew Member, and
such other services as may be required of Crew Member by Company from
time to time.
2. Term
Crew Member will commence work on ___________________ (date) and,
unless otherwise terminated or extended, this Agreement will terminate on
___________________ (date) .
3. Compensation
Crew Member shall be paid $___________ per week during the Term of this
Agreement with partial weeks to be prorated. A week is considered to be _____ days.
4. Per Diem
Crew Member shall receive $__________ per day during principal photography
for meals.
5. Accommodations
Company will provide Crew Member with reasonable living accommodations
during the principal photography of the production if Crew Member’s place of
residence is over ________ miles from the production sites.
6. Credit
A. Crew Member will receive substantially the following credit on all positive
prints of the films, the size type and specific placement of which will be in
Company’s sole discretion:
(Describe Credit)
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
B. No casual or inadvertent failure by Company, nor failure of any third
party, to give the applicable credit shall constitute a breach of this Agreement.
Company agrees to use all reasonable efforts to rectify any inadvertent
omission of Crew Member’s credit upon receipt of notice in writing from Crew
Member.
7. Work for Hire
A. Company shall own all rights in perpetuity in the Film, including all
copyrights and trademarks therein, in all media, in all forms and by every
method now known or hereafter created, and in all of the results and proceeds
of Crew Member’s services hereunder (the Work ). Crew Member
acknowledges that the Work is a work specially ordered by Company for use as
part of the television production, and, therefore, the Work shall be deemed
“work made for hire” under section 101 of the Copyright Act of 1976 as
amended; but in the event it is determined that the Work in whole or in part is
not “work made for hire,” Crew Member hereby irrevocably assigns, conveys,
and transfers to Company all proprietary rights he may own, including all
copyrights and trademarks throughout the world in perpetuity in and to such
Work and any and all rights of, and titles and interest in and to all proprietary
rights in the Work throughout the world in perpetuity. Such assignment shall
also include the goodwill associated with any trademarks assigned herein.
B. Without in any way limiting the generality of the foregoing, the rights
herein granted to Company shall include all motion picture, television, radio,
dramatic, publication, merchandising, and all other rights in and to the Work
and the Films, including the sole and exclusive right to photograph, perform,
exhibit, not exhibit, distribute, reproduce, transmit, broadcast or otherwise
communicate the same. Company shall have unlimited re-release, foreign
release, theatrical exhibition, supplemental market and all other rights to the
Work and the Films. Company, and Company’s licensees and assigns shall
have the right to adapt, change, revise, delete from, add to, and rearrange the
Work or any part thereof submitted by Crew Member hereunder, and to
combine the same with other materials in the Films or any other related work,
or otherwise, to any extent, and in this connection Crew Member hereby waives
any so-called “moral rights.”
8. Confidentiality
Crew Member agrees that she will not divulge or make known to any person or
entity any matters of a confidential nature pertaining to Company’s business.
9. Independent Contractor Status
Crew Member is an independent contractor and is not an employee, servant,
partner or joint venturer of Company. Company shall determine the services to be
provided by Crew Member , but Crew Member shall determine the legal means by
which it accomplishes the services in accordance with this Agreement. Company is
not responsible for withholding, and shall not withhold or deduct from the commissions
FICA or taxes of any kind, unless such withholding becomes legally required. Crew
Member is not entitled to receive the benefits which employees of Company and is not
entitled to receive and shall not be entitled to workers compensation, unemployment
compensation, medical insurance, life insurance, paid vacations, paid holidays,
pension, profit sharing, or Social Security on account of his services to Company. It is
further understood that Crew Member is free to contract for similar services to be
performed for other film producer or organizations while under contract with Company.
10. Termination with and without Cause
A. Company may terminate this Agreement any time and for any or no
reason (i.e., without Cause ) by providing Crew Member with _____ (number)
days prior written notice, which notice the Company can waive, in whole or in
part, in its sole discretion, by paying Crew Member for such time; provided,
however, the Company may terminate the Agreement immediately if there is
Cause, in the event of Crew Member’s Disability and in the event of Crew
Member’s death.
B. Company may terminate this Agreement immediately and without prior
notice at any time for Cause , which for purposes of this Agreement shall mean
any of the following: (i) self-dealing, willful misconduct, fraud, misappropriation,
embezzlement, dishonesty, or misrepresentation (other than a good faith
dispute over an expense account charge that is of an immaterial and
insignificant amount); (ii) being charged by governmental authorities with or
convicted of a felony; (iii) material failure of Crew Member to perform his known
duties and responsibilities to the Company; (iv) gross negligence; (v) any
violation of the Company's Code of Business Conduct and Ethics (as it may be
amended, restated, or replaced from time to time); (vi) violation in any material
respect by Crew Member of any policy, rule, or reasonable direction or
regulation of the Company; any violation by Crew Member of the provisions of
the Confidentiality Agreement described in Section 9 above; or (viii) any
violation by Crew Member of any material provision of this Agreement.
C. Disability shall mean Crew Member’s inability, for a total of _______
(number) weeks or more in any rolling _______ (number) -month period to
perform the essential duties of Crew Member's position, with any reasonable
accommodation required by law, due to a mental or physical impairment which
substantially limits one or more major life activities. The determination as to
whether Crew Member has a Disability shall be made by a physician selected
by the Company, and Crew Member agrees to submit to reasonable medical
examinations upon the request and at the expense of the Company.
11. Severability
The invalidity of any portion of this Agreement will not and shall not be deemed
to affect the validity of any other provision. If any provision of this Agreement is held to
be invalid, the parties agree that the remaining provisions shall be deemed to be in full
force and effect as if they had been executed by both parties subsequent to the
expungement of the invalid provision.
12. No Waiver
The failure of either party to this Agreement to insist upon the performance of
any of the terms and conditions of this Agreement, or the waiver of any breach of any
of the terms and conditions of this Agreement, shall not be construed as subsequently
waiving any such terms and conditions, but the same shall continue and remain in full
force and effect as if no such forbearance or waiver had occurred.
13. Governing Law
This Agreement shall be governed by, construed, and enforced in accordance
with the laws of the State of ______________.
14. Notices
Unless provided herein to the contrary, any notice provided for or concerning
this Agreement shall be in writing and shall be deemed sufficiently given when sent by
certified or registered mail if sent to the respective address of each party as set forth
at the beginning of this Agreement.
15. Mandatory Arbitration
Any dispute under this Agreement shall be required to be resolved by binding
arbitration of the parties hereto. If the parties cannot agree on an arbitrator, each
party shall select one arbitrator and both arbitrators shall then select a third. The third
arbitrator so selected shall arbitrate said dispute. The arbitration shall be governed by
the rules of the American Arbitration Association then in force and effect.
16. Entire Agreement
This Agreement shall constitute the entire agreement between the parties and
any prior understanding or representation of any kind preceding the date of this
Agreement shall not be binding upon either party except to the extent incorporated in
this Agreement.
17. Modification of Agreement
Any modification of this Agreement or additional obligation assumed by either
party in connection with this Agreement shall be binding only if placed in writing and
signed by each party or an authorized representative of each party.
18. Assignment of Rights
The rights of each party under this Agreement are personal to that party and
may not be assigned or transferred to any other person, firm, corporation, or other
entity without the prior, express, and written consent of the other party.
19. Counterparts
This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which
shall be deemed to be an original, but all of which together shall constitute but one
and the same instrument.
20. Compliance with Laws
In performing under this Agreement, all applicable governmental laws,
regulations, orders, and other rules of duly-constituted authority will be followed and
complied with in all respects by both parties.
21. In this Agreement, any reference to a party includes that party's heirs,
executors, administrators, successors and assigns, singular includes plural and
masculine includes feminine.
WITNESS our signatures as of the day and date first above stated.
__________________________
(Name of Production Company)
___________________________ By:_______________________________
(P rinted Name of Crew Member) _________________________
___________________________ (P rinted Name & Office in Corporation)
(Signature of Crew Member ) ________________________
(Signature of Officer)