Unpaid work....

lrwskyfilms · Apr 13, 2015

Hi, got a call from a mate today asking for me to a job, for charity, and he's the sort of person to go down the pub with a £1 in his pocket and come back with £2, you know the sort.

Anyway, question/s; yes I'll probably do it because it might lead to something, but the photos and videos taken are mine and I can watermark them correct?

What if they (the charity) ask for the watermark/s to be removed and want some shots/film? What if they want the commercial rights?

Thanks for any help, cheers Mark

The Editor · Apr 13, 2015

lrwskyfilms said:
Hi, got a call from a mate today asking for me to a job, for charity, and he's the sort of person to go down the pub with a £1 in his pocket and come back with £2, you know the sort.

Anyway, question/s; yes I'll probably do it because it might lead to something, but the photos and videos taken are mine and I can watermark them correct?

What if they (the charity) ask for the watermark/s to be removed and want some shots/film? What if they want the commercial rights?

Thanks for any help, cheers Mark

Technically, the CAA class any work undertaken for commercial gain requires PFAW (Permission For aerial work) granted by them through an NQE.
The fact that you are not receiving payment in this instance is not really the driving factor but more the fact that (presumably) the footage will be used by a registered charity for commercial purposes?
You just have to be very clear on who you are working for, whether you have permission to fly within/over the area, buildings , vehicles, people etc. i.e they are under your control.
The other 'complication' is that any insurance you may have for hobby use will not cover any kind of commercial activity.

If you are willing to give a few more details (without giving too much away) it may be easier to guide you in the right direction.

Alternatively, PM me.

lrwskyfilms · Apr 13, 2015

Hi, thx for the reply. Yes, I'm well aware of the CAA rules and have both a PFAW and full commercial insurance. I also have the landowners permission to take off/land and fly within and over the area required.

It's just whether to give a few photos/film free (watermarked or not), and then charge them if they want more and/or commercial rights.
Thanks again, Cheers Mark

The Editor · Apr 13, 2015

lrwskyfilms said:
Hi, thx for the reply. Yes, I'm well aware of the CAA rules and have both a PFAW and full commercial insurance. I also have the landowners permission to take off/land and fly within and over the area required.

It's just whether to give a few photos/film free (watermarked or not), and then charge them if they want more and/or commercial rights.
Thanks again, Cheers Mark

Ahhh...OK, apologies I didn't realise you had PFAW.

OK, in that case we can skip all the pleasantries as you will already know what is required for your risk assessment and permissions etc which is fine. So we can skip all that

OK, moving onto you contractual relationship, that is entirely up to you. You can either take the shots etc and let the charity use them under licence (since you own them) - this is a little more complex as you will have to be comfortable with drawing up a licensing/copyright contract correctly structured for legal usage and any consideration (payment) from that use or....... You can draw up a complete release, relinquish ing all rights over to the charity.
It's a bit of a delicate one with charities and always pricks the conscience a bit as to whether you should give your time/product for free etc.
You are the only one that can answer that question I'm afraid as there are so many governing factors.

Is it a small/tiny/local charity etc....if so maybe donate your services
Is a huge national charity that could lead to a large contract (everyone has to make a living )
Do you want to set up an agreement beforehand based on x number of pictures for free. Over that number is chargeable
Same situation with x number of minutes of video free etc.
You could 'donate' 5 photos and 120 seconds of video (or whatever you think is fair).

IrishSights · Apr 13, 2015

If it's not being used for commercial purposes (alternatively scientific, research etc) by the charity then you do not technically need a PFAW but you obviously must still comply with the ANO especially articles 166 and 167.

If the charity or any other entity use it for commercial purposes then the CAA could come after you.

As the Editor says the normal recreational insurance would not cover you so you would need to have other adaquate arrangements in place if you did damage to people or property.

I think you need to explain all this to those in authority and those with the responsibility in the charity management.

Watermarking just creates an audit trail to you if that's what you really want. You could consider licencing the footage, excluding commercial use or resale. However this all sort of makes it 'commercial'

lrwskyfilms · Apr 13, 2015

LOL, no problems and thanks for your help.

And also thanks for your thoughts and informative reply, yes they're a lot of complex legal angles, it is only a small local charity so may just speak to them and see exactly what they want, because they don't really know. AFAIK they think I can put up a UAV shoot stuff and that's that. It's all a bit more complex.

Thanks again for your help, cheers Mark

IrishSights · Apr 13, 2015

lrwskyfilms said:
Hi, thx for the reply. Yes, I'm well aware of the CAA rules and have both a PFAW and full commercial insurance. I also have the landowners permission to take off/land and fly within and over the area required.

It's just whether to give a few photos/film free (watermarked or not), and then charge them if they want more and/or commercial rights.
Thanks again, Cheers Mark

That little bit of info helps! The thread moved on as I am a slow typer,sorry.

lrwskyfilms · Apr 13, 2015

IrishSights;
Yes I made them already aware of 166/167 briefly.
"If the charity or any other entity use it for commercial purposes then the CAA could come after you." *****Yes agree and this is why I'm asking, many thanks.
"You could consider licencing the footage, excluding commercial use or resale." Many thanks, good advice, is there a way of doing that, not involving my already wealthy solicitor?

Thanks again good people excellent advice. Cheers Mark

ps. no problem thanks again for your time.

IrishSights · Apr 13, 2015

Mark, there are a few free contracts here https://lessaccounting.com/blog/free-photography-contracts/ but if you Google it there are loads of others too. Licencing your work is better than selling the copyright, unless they offer you big money of course! Good luck.