Let`s start with the short form option. This small document usually states, in clear and simple terms, that the author has granted an option to the optional part. There is probably no length of the option or any financial conditions. Instead, it is said that the terms of the option are described in more detail in the underlying agreement. Q: An option agreement was recently presented to me. At the end of the agreement, there are two other short agreements. One of them is a “short form option”. The other is an “abbreviated allowance.” Why am I signing two options? And why would I agree to sign an assignment contract that states that they have all the rights when they have not yet exercised this option? If the option is exercised (making the party option the new owner of the script), this short form assignment is saved in the Copyright Office. In this case, it will tell the world that the optional party, not you, now owns all the rights to the script. This is especially important if your script is already subject to a copyright registration, as that record would list you as the owner. Once the task is saved, the world will know that the owner has changed. The purchase price of a tv option is calculated differently than exercising an option for a movie. However, if a book is optional for a TV series, an author can and should be richly rewarded.
Think in terms of royalties. An author only gives one option extension to one producer, not three or more. There is one final reason why producers and other parties to the option want to register these documents. When the project ends in a guild signing studio or production company, guilds require that these transfer documents be registered as part of their verification and approval of the film`s chain of title. There are a number of pitfalls faced by authors faced with signing a publishing contract that has not been verified by an experienced literary lawyer, the following options of which are related to the progress of production, such as for example. B a finished script, written obligations of a lead actor and a director of names and/or a development agreement with a studio. TV channels or companies such as Amazon, Apple, Hulu, HBO, Netflix or others, or with financiers. My client was surprised to learn that if he did not present his option (in the form of a short form option), an unscrupulous rights holder could grant the same option to the same material a second time and separate my client from his rights from the option agreement…
