If the story lays the foundation, and the script forms a blueprint, then the players build the motion picture. Players are writers, directors, actors, producers, casting directors, composers, and crew. Employment agreements between the production company and creators define the nature of the relationships. They contain key provisions, the most relevant to creators being the grant of rights, name and likeness, and other approvals.
Grant of Rights
The grant of rights will generally consist of three main parts: (1) work made for hire; (2) assignment of rights; and, (3) moral rights waiver. These key elements provide the production company with layers of ownership in the work product of its creators. For example, if a work is not made for hire, then an assignment will transfer any rights in the work automatically to the production company. A moral rights waiver removes any possibility that a creator can prevent the production company from manipulating the work as it sees fit. Thus, ownership allows for flexibility in the creations. Distributors prefer that production companies own all rights in the work product of its creators so that they may access those rights for worldwide distribution.
Work Made For Hire
The United States Copyright Code defines a work made for hire as either a work prepared by an employee within the scope of employment, or, a work specially ordered or commissioned for use as part of a motion picture, if parties expressly agree in a written instrument that is signed by them that the work shall be considered a work made for hire[1]. Most employment agreements between creators and production companies will state in the grant of rights that the work is specially ordered or commissioned as part of a motion picture; thereby foregoing any need to dispute whether the freelancer is or is not an employee.
The default rule is a freelancer will own his or her creation unless he or she agrees to the contrary in writing[2]. An actor filmed a part for a production, which she understood was an adventure story set in ancient Arabia. Several months later, she received death threats, and an Egyptian cleric issued a fatwa calling for the death of everyone involved in the film. The producer had placed her performance with an overdub into another film offensive to Muslims. The actor filed suit and received a judgment in her favor. The court ruled that in the absence of a signed writing attesting to a wo