Exclusive rights?

[marcusg6@bigpond.net.au]

Hi, if a mag wants exclusive rights to my photos, and I agree, and they never print them, what happens? Do I charge them for nothing or go and sell them to somebody else? They play games and ask for exclusive rights just so their opposition can't print them, but also deprives me of the sale? Anybody have any suggestions?
Thanks

[colleent]

I think they have to pay you whether or not they print the photo. I think they pay for the exclusive rights.

[IndyJeff]

Most definately they pay you. If they haven't paid yet, send them an invoice stating that payment is to be made within 14 days or all previous agreements are canceled. Any exclusive rights they had are revoked because of non-payment.
If they don't pay within the 14 days, send them a notification of cancelation informing them that all uses of that image are restricted and no longer available to them without a new signed and paid for agreement.

[marcusg6@bigpond.net.au]

Thanks guys, but I have no idea what to charge. They have about 40 surfing photos of mine that they have held for 4 months. I want to sell them to somebody else.

[IndyJeff]

Well if you haven't sent them an invoice you need to contact them and aks whats up with the images you sent. If they are wanting to use some fine, which ones because you want to sell some of the other ones.
Be firm and tell them that you need to know what size the images will be published as. Check in the magazine for ad rates, they usually will give you a clue as to what to charge for what size images. Then send them an invoice and triple the amount that you would have charged for a one time use, if the still want the exclusive use.
Give them written notice that all other images are no longer exclusive and will be sold to other clients.

Don't under any circumstances sell one of the exclusive images to anyone else because they haven't used it yet. If they paid for it, and I would give them a year, maybe 2 for the exclusive use, then just because they haven't used it, the may still want to. If you resell the image you will violate your agreement with them and could be looking at some hefty legal expenses.

Example: Lets say they are doing a story about a young and up coming star. They want to wait for him to win his first big one before they do the story. In the meantime they are working on it and your images will be key to the story. Six or seven months go by and he doesn't win but comes close. Since nothing happened you sell that image to another magazine. The second magazine issues its Dec issue about 3 days before your original client did.
Opps, the original client runs the story with "exclusive" photos by Marcus6.
Hmmm, the other magazine has the same photos by Marcus6. Original client has now published a story claiming exclusive images and they are not.
Ring, ring, ring.....yep thats your phone and I imagine on the other end someone is talking lawsuit.

[mizuno]

Let this be a lesson that you should never part with your work until there is a contract for sale in place.

[IndyJeff]

Let this be a lesson that you should never part with your work until there is a contract for sale in place.


Exactly. Now lets look at this from another point of view.

Think about your first job, I mean when you were a kid and got a job as a dishwasher, cutting grass, pumping gas, whatever. When you started on your first day, did you know how much you were going to make per hour?

How about your regular job now? When you accepted the position did you go in the first day not knowing how much you were making per hour or the salary per week/month/year? Of course not.

So when you do a photography job you should establish several things....

1. What the client wants.
2. How much you will be paid.
3. How and when you will be paid.
4. How do you deliver the product.

Without this knowledge before you pick up the camera, you don't know if your making $1000 or $10.