Contract Monitor 2:2:2

Disclaimer: This information is true and accurate as of the dates specified, to the best of our knowledge and belief, and is provided by the Graphic Artists Guild to help artists make informed choices.

<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>

G R A P H I C A R T I S T S G U I L D

N a t i o n a l C o n t r a c t M o n i t o r

v o l . 3 , n o .1

------------------------------------------------------------------

March 2000 - Tips & Tricks for Better Contracts

------------------------------------------------------------------

Hello Contract Monitor Subscribers! Long time, no talk! We've been busy... mostly developing and presenting "Extreme Contract World", our funny and informative in-depth look at Contracts for Freelancers. You might have seen us giving this talk at the Santa Fe Illustrator's conference, in front of 400 or so conventioneers! We also gave the same presentation to the newly-formed Los Angeles chapter of the Graphic Artist Guild. We've got a couple contract alerts on the way, but in the meantime we thought we'd give you a little tidbit from our roadshow: 5 Negotiating Tips for Better Contracts.

You can see more tips here.

Have a Contracts Tip or a Trick of your own? We'd love to hear it. Drop us an email at <pr@gag.org> and we'll add your tips to our list. Confidentiality is strictly observed.

Most of the material for this issue came from our Contracts presentation. Our thanks goes to the Dynamic Duo of Contracts.

If you're like most graphic artists, you love to do the creative end of your business, but you perhaps have a hard time dealing with the contracts we're handed as freelancers. Well, no need to despair. Dealing with contracts is easy, if you know how to approach them.

------------------------------------------------------------------

1) Know your needs as artist, but also know your client's needs. Figure out what you're willing to give (and get) in order to do this job. If your client is asking for too many rights, ask for less of a rights-grab, or ask for a time limitation on the contract. What you are doing is negotiating, but it needn't be an adversarial relationship. Keep an arm's distance from the negotiation, and don't get emotionally involved. You don't want to burn bridges with your clients, you only want a fair contract for both parties. Know when to say no: if your client, for example, is asking for an all-rights contract, or a work-for-hire contract, and is intractable in this demand, then you have the right to turn down the job.

2) Do you use your own contracts when your client doesn't have one? One woman in Los Angeles told us that she never uses the word "Contract" on her contracts - instead, she uses the words "Letter of Agreement." The word "Contract" sounds too scary for some clients who will readily sign a piece of paper entitled "Letter of Agreement." We've got a sample letter of Agreement on the site (that can be downloaded as a handy dandy PDF) - http://www.gag.org/contracts/agreement.html

3) Learn how to read contracts. It's not as daunting as you might assume. There's a bunch of buzzwords, to be sure, but as soon as you get past that, reading contracts is a piece of cake. Take time out to read your contracts. Make it a regular part of doing your business. Highlight any confusing clauses, and find out what they mean. How? Simple. Ask a fellow Guild member, consult your Pricing and Ethical Guidelines Handbook, or check this page: http://www.gag.org/contracts/glossary.html

4) Here's one from our presentation... Know where the Power lies. Does your client have the power to make changes on the contract you're negotiating? Sometimes clients will use the fact that they didn't write the contract as an excuse to push the job along without proper negotiation. If it will assist you in negotiation, ask to talk to the legal department. It's a bit of a long shot, but it may work.

5) Here's another one from our presentation. Offer a solution to any impasse you may come across.

Let's do a little role playing, shall we? Grab a friend, and have them play the client. You'll be the artist.

Client: "This is a work-for-hire job and we'll be sending a contract for you to sign."

Artist: "I'm sorry, but we have a policy not to do work-for-hire projects. I'd be happy, though, to discuss ways to work out a reasonable agreement that gives you the specific rights you need."

Client: "Ok, but how do we do that?"

Artist: "I can send you an agreement which serves your needs, but protects my copyrights. I think you'll find that your needs can be met without a work-for hire agreement."

Here's another:

Client: "We've recieved your changes on our contract and our lawyers have informed us that our policy is no alterations are allowed on our contracts."

Artist: "I see. Well, we have a policy of not accepting non-negotiable contracts. I'd be happy to discuss the matter with your lawyers if that might help."

That was fun, wasn't it? Notice that the artist uses policy to shield herself from the client's (rights-grabbing) policy. The difference, however, is that the artist offers a solution to the impasse.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, that was a bit of negotiation tips & tricks. We hope it was helpful. We'd love to read your tips & tricks! Please send yours to <<pr@gag.org.

Just remember: Without you, we're nothing. We encourage you to participate with us. If you have comments on companies and contracts featured in the Monitor, send them to us. When you are given a new contract to sign, alert us to any terms you think might be unfair. And send us any contracts you think we would be interested in seeing.

LEGIBLE hard copies of contracts should be MAILED (not faxed) to:

Contracts Graphic Artists Guild 90 John Street, Suite 403 New York, NY 10038

Until next issue....

<<>-<<>-<<>-<<>-<<>-<<>-<<>-<<>-<<>-<<>-<<>-<<>-<<>-<<>-<<>-<<>

The Graphic Artists Guild National Contract Monitor is an intermittent e-mail service published by the Graphic Artists Guild (http://www.gag.org), a not-for-profit organization headquartered in the State of New York. Information provided in the Contract Monitor is accurate to the best of our knowledge. The Graphic Artists Guild provides this information to members to help them make informed choices.

The Guild encourages reproduction and distribution of this document for the benefit of free-lance artists and designers. Please credit the Graphic Artists Guild, and do not alter contents.

Back issues of the National Contract Monitor are posted at http://www.gag.org/contracts/contracts.html.

The web site also contains a glossary of legalese and other useful features.

The Graphic Artists Guild promotes and protects the economic interests of its members. It is committed to improving conditions for all creators of graphic art, and to raising standards for the entire industry. The Guild is a union that embraces creators at all levels of skill and expertise who produce graphic art ntended for presentation as originals or reproductions.

************