015: How To Protect Your Work As A Motion Designer w/ Silvia Baumgart

Have you ever felt freaked out and overwhelmed at the idea of creating a contract? If you already have standard terms and conditions, do you feel confident in them, or could they be tighter? Are you even aware of all the legal ramifications that can come from your creative works if not protected properly? Silvia Baumgart breaks down all of these issues and more in this second part of our series on copyright and contracts.

Silvia Baumgart, a trainee solicitor with an extensive background in protecting creatives and their work, joins us again to explain how to make the legal sign of freelancing work for us and not against us. We talk about resources for finding legal templates, when you should seek professional advice and assistance, and what are moral rights and why you need them in your contracts.

We dive into tips on how to handle when a client asks you to create something similar to another artist’s work, and the legal issues that could arise from doing so without proper steps being taken prior, and the legal rules of using others music or work within your showreels and how to prevent thorny legal issues when doing so. We also go through the biggest takeaways from both episodes so that you can walk away with a better understanding of how to protect yourself and your work.

Do you use a template created by someone else for your contracts? Does it cover everything? Leave a comment on the episode page!

In this episode:

• Resources for finding legal templates
• When you should seek professional legal advice and assistance
• What are moral rights and why should you have them in your contract?
• Your rights when a piece of your work goes viral, either with and without your being credited
• The legalities behind using music in your showreels
• How to properly source work created by others in projects you’re working on
• Tips for how to handle when a company asks you to create something similar to another artist's work
• Biggest takeaways from part one and part two

Links:

Looking for help with your contract and terms & conditions? Check out the Motion Hatch Freelance Contract Bundle!

Association of Illustrators

UK Copyrights Office - Intellectual Property Information

The Intellectual Property Office: Exceptions to copyright - guidance for creators and copyright owners

Find the full show notes here 

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