Commercial Rights / Full Broadcast Rights

[onlinewhiz]

What will happen, if someone purchase a voice over gig without Commercial Rights / Full Broadcast Rights but use it for Commercial / Broadcast purpose?

[matureactress]

They can be sued by the Rights Holder (Seller). The Rights Holder is entitled to a hefty percentage of the profits generated by the illegal use of the creative work, plus court and attorney cost incurred.

Here is the best chance of getting what they owe you if the Buyer was the enduser of your work —

Send a certified letter giving them 3 options. Either pay what they owe; or cease and desist using your work immediately; or be sued for profits generated from the use. In most cases, they will pay rather than having to replace your work or have their “books” exposed in court. Courts in the US want to see this done first because it usually resolves the issue. You don’t need an attorney to write this very simple letter. You can charge whatever you wish for the CUL/BR documentation. If you write me, I’ll send you the template I use.

_If the enduser was not a Buyer on Fiverr —

Sometimes a company who is using your work bought your work from a reseller and unaware that they must secure the rights directly from you. RIGHTS CANNOT BE TRANSFERRED. Again, they will be more than happy to pay you rather than having their “books” exposed in court, or going through the trouble of replacing your work. You can charge whatever you want at this point because it becomes a new contract. In fact, I’m surprised more Sellers here on Fiverr aren’t going after every enduser of their work that didn’t purchase the rights from them directly!

Remember, a CUL and BR are only leases of the creative work to a person/company that you designate in a written document. However, on Fiverr, simply purchasing the CUL/BR is considered adequate documentation, but only for the purchaser, and is not transferable. Purchasing ANY work on Fiverr does not grant ownership as long as the rights are clearly being offered, as they are with voice over gigs.

[englishrosevocs]

They can be sued by the Rights Holder (Seller). The Rights Holder is entitled to a hefty percentage of the profits generated by the illegal use of the creative work, plus court and attorney cost incurred.

Here is the best chance of getting what they owe you if the Buyer was the enduser of your work —

Send a certified letter giving them 3 options. Either pay what they owe; or cease and desist using your work immediately; or be sued for profits generated from the use. In most cases, they will pay rather than having to replace your work or have their “books” exposed in court. Courts in the US want to see this done first because it usually resolves the issue. You don’t need an attorney to write this very simple letter. You can charge whatever you wish for the CUL/BR documentation. If you write me, I’ll send you the template I use.

_If the enduser was not a Buyer on Fiverr —

Sometimes a company who is using your work bought your work from a reseller and unaware that they must secure the rights directly from you. RIGHTS CANNOT BE TRANSFERRED. Again, they will be more than happy to pay you rather than having their “books” exposed in court, or going through the trouble of replacing your work. You can charge whatever you want at this point because it becomes a new contract. In fact, I’m surprised more Sellers here on Fiverr aren’t going after every enduser of their work that didn’t purchase the rights from them directly!

Remember, a CUL and BR are only leases of the creative work to a person/company that you designate in a written document. However, on Fiverr, simply purchasing the CUL/BR is considered adequate documentation, but only for the purchaser, and is not transferable. Purchasing ANY work on Fiverr does not grant ownership as long as the rights are clearly being offered, as they are with voice over gigs.

Thankyou so much! I have been worrying about this a lot recently, I’ve had a few buyers recently who have said they wont be using my work publicly but it really seems like they will be from the script/info given! I’ve always believed them and just had to trust their word, but it’s great to know that something can be done if they do abuse my trust!!!