Overview

This standard involves securing the ideas or content for film and television production, drawing on your knowledge, experience and understanding of industry requirements.

You will need to know how to obtain content, agreement for use of formats or access to individuals, and ensure the production company owns the necessary legal rights.

You will need to know how to liaise and negotiate terms with agents, representatives, lawyers or format holders and when the most appropriate opportunity to do so is.

This standard is for those involved in securing rights and access such as production executives and legal teams.

 

Performance Criteria 

You must be able to:

  1. use information from reliable sources to identify the owner of rights to ideas or content
  2. work on an ongoing basis with agents, representatives and lawyers in relation to securing content or access to content
  3. negotiate with relevant parties to secure legal rights to content or format
  4. secure the underlying rights of ideas or content at appropriate times
  5. verify that all paperwork relating to legal rights is correct and stored in secure locations
  6. confirm that expenditure is within allocated development budgets for optioning and securing rights
  7. use information from reliable sources to identify and check copyright implications and any potential regulatory or legal problems
  8. check that any legal and ethical constraints have been considered
  9. confirm risk factors to projects and the production company

 

Knowledge and understanding

You need to know and understand:  

  1. methods of identifying who owns the rights to ideas or content and information to use to do so
  2. how to obtain options and underlying legal rights to content or formats
  3. how to check legal documents are correct and safely stored
  4. how to gain access to, liaise and develop relationships with agents or representatives
  5. how to work with lawyers to negotiate the best deal for the production company
  6. all aspects of production, from development to delivery
  7. any legal and ethical considerations which could affect the use of the chosen content in productions
  8. how to minimise factors of risk and vulnerability to the project and the production company
  9. the budget available for purchasing options and legal advice