Media trade law
Media trade law summarizes the contractual legal relationships between media companies and with third parties in the areas of media production, media distribution and media financing. It is not a sharply delimited legal matter. Questions of copyright and industrial property rights also play a role.
Media production
Media production often requires a complicated interaction between different professional groups, whose services make the end product possible. This ranges from the original idea to its artistic implementation with the help of technicians to the manufacture of a marketable product, whereby all those involved must be coordinated, financed and, if necessary, have a share in the success. This usually takes place on the basis of contractual agreements. Depending on the medium and type of product, the number of participants and thus the complexity of the contracts required varies greatly.
Press products, books
For the production of a book, the author, as the owner of the copyright, concludes a publishing contract with the publisher . The publishing contract is based on the Publishing Act (see Publishing Law ). The publisher then takes care of the production of the book. These are works and service contracts with editors, graphic designers, the printers, etc. required.
Movie
An overarching contract is initially concluded between the producer, financier and insurer in order to determine the distribution of the proceeds and the sequence of collateral (interparty agreement). As a rule, the producer will first acquire the filming rights (§ 88 UrhG) to the material to be filmed. Then a (work) contract for the creation of the script is concluded with the scriptwriter. Before the actual film script contract, however, a so-called preliminary producer contract is often concluded (usually in the form of a cooperation agreement) so that the scriptwriters are not deprived of rights in the meantime and as a guarantee that the producer does not simply jump out if he does the filming and Has acquired personal rights. In the absence of detailed contractual regulations, this contract is based on the general statutory provisions of normal contract law.
The film script contract usually already contains all the important points for the production and exploitation of the film. Before the filming, the director, cameraman, actor, other technicians, outfitters, architects, composers have to be contractually bound, filming permits for locations have to be obtained and studio rooms, props etc. have to be rented. At the same time, a financing contract is concluded between the producer and other financiers. The rights and claims already acquired by the producer are assigned to the financiers as security ( security assignment ). The entire process of filming and post-production is also covered by failure insurance (completion bond), which protects the financier against a production failure. After the completion of the film , it and the rights to it (§§ 89, 94 UrhG) will also be assigned to the financiers by way of security. It is then used in the cinema, video library and television. Here, too, the loss of the proceeds from the sale is secured against the financiers.
