The Copyright Society of Liberia (COSOL) has today announced three sample business contracts for entertainers and creators, particularly those in the music, film, and literary industries to help them have a general sense of the legal side of the creative industries.
The audio-visual, composer, and literary contracts came after years of persistent complaints from the artists and individuals about the lack of legal information or assistance on contractual matters. The documents, developed in partnership with the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO) are easy-to-use educational materials that have been crafted to fit the legal needs of those that need them.
“The purpose of this guide is to provide a basic overview of important principles in Contract Law, as well as, to paint a more detailed picture of the Agreements and clauses that are more relevant to the creative industries,” the Executive Director of COSOL Prince E. Decker explained.
COSOL is a semi-public agency established by the Government of Liberia to seek the economic rights of derived from creativity.
“This is the first of many benefits artists get by joining COSOL. In the weeks to come, we will launch the next phase of this program which will include a hotline and response center for artists in legal contractual distress. We are dedicating resources available to help artists negotiate and formulate contractual agreements to secure their economic rights legally,” Mr. Decker said.
According to the Executive Director, the move by COSOL is just one of the many in the making intended to align artists and IP rights holder needs with the office long-term version for them, which has to do with skill and knowledge acquisitions and guidance.
“We understand the importance of protecting artists and IP rights holders. In this fast-paced industry, we must keep on equipping our members or those we work for with the relevant legal knowledge relating to entertainment business contracts,” Mr. Decker added.
He stated further that contracts are the primary tools that individuals and entities in the creative industries use to enter into business relationships with one another; as a result, sample documents must be developed to enable creators and business people alike to have a general sense of how they work.
“These ‘Sample Contracts’ are general and educational in nature and reflect all recent legal developments in the music, film, and literary industries,” Mr. Decker intimated. “At COSOL, we seek the interests of all creators and IP Right Holders; therefore, we are taking steps to ensure their Economic Rights are not only protected, but also they have the legal assistance to cover them in all business ventures.”
Mr. Decker further said that artists and business people are losing money due to the general lack of knowledge about the way contracts in the creative industries are structured.
“So we are here to stop it by providing them with the needed education,” Mr. Decker assured.