![]() That, however, is HIGHLY problematic for the author. ![]() For example, terms for production of a play in a particular territory or level of production could be keyed to terms that are no less favorable to author than that of other similarly sized productions in the current or prior season in that territory/city presented under similar economic conditions, or terms based on a prior production of your work, or a prior production presented by the producer, or based on recommended terms in the applicable Guild contract.Īlso, such deal memos often state that the intent of the parties is to negotiate and execute a “long form agreement” which will include all the contract terms that were excluded and/or deferred, but, until that time, the deal memo will be governing the relationship of the parties. Then, if certain terms are to be negotiated later, those terms should be identified and, rather than leaving it to “good faith negotiations” at some unknown future date (as these memos tend to do), those negotiations should be keyed to specific, objective criteria. We understand the efficiency of this practice, allowing everybody to “get going,” but there are certain precautions to consider when granting rights in this manner.įirst, the primary issues of what, where, when, and how (the “why” is self-explanatory… profit) need to be described specifically enough for some reasonable third party to be able to read it and understand who is getting what rights, for how long, in what territories, with what restrictions, and for what sort of compensation payable to author. Such memos are used by producers to show potential investors that they have rights in the work, and they are authorized to pay artists (including the writers) upfront commission fees and option payments to begin the work of creating a show. ![]() A deal memo is a short form contract that lists the major points of a deal but often excludes or defers the negotiation of many important terms that are customarily addressed in a production agreement. We have seen a growing trend of dramatists granting producers production rights by signing “deal memos” instead of fully negotiated production agreements.
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