posted
I'm not certain if there is a particular forum that best suits this question, if there is feel free to delete/move or whatever is neccessary with this one.
But my basic situation is that I am starting up local writers group/workshop beginning with some local friends that write, and then once we are stable opening it up to more people. I am in search of a Mutual Non-Disclosure Agreement that would best suit our purposes, but Google has thus-far failed me. If someone could point me in the right direction or happens to even have a template for one on-hand, I would be most grateful.
posted
This is what we use for our screenwriting group:
It is intended that all the members have read and agreed to what follows.
1. SCOPE.
a) Members join the Cooperative for the only scope to give and receive notes and thoughts on material provided by themselves and the other members and to improve their craft through constructive criticism.
b) All the members who join in the Cooperative and its boards agree to respect these guidelines.
2. EXPECTED BEHAVIOR.
a) Members agree they will not ever publicize or disclose the material submitted by the other members and that they will not make any use of said material except for the strict scopes of the Cooperative, as seen at point 1, unless explicitly agreed by the member who owns the material.
b) Members agree that every comment or idea they may give in the form of notes to another member's material can be used by that member without the member owes anything to the commenting member.
c) Members who infringe this agreement are liable to be banned from the Cooperative based on the only agreement of the Administrators, as found in the members list.
3. POSTS.
a) All the posts in the "Development" and "Scriptwriting" sections will be deleted after 30 days from the creation of the original thread. All the personal posts in the remaining sections will be deleted after 60 days from the creation of the original thread. It is up to the members to backup or copy relevant posts or notes given to them by the other members before the posts are deleted.
b) Members can delete their own posts, whenever they deem it necessary or when they renounce to their membership.
4. CANCELLATION.
a) Membership will be canceled upon request, infringement of this agreement or after 12 months since the member's last login.
Seems to work pretty well, and levelsets everyone on the ground rules.
posted
I'd make sure everyone in the group has the same goals. Its hard to be an effective group if not everyone is on the same page. For instance, is everyone writing for fun or are some targeted on professional publication? For those wanting to get published, is it a desire to write better or to become their main income-generating profession?
The differences will affect how seriously people participate and contribute to the group, as well as what they get out of it. It isn't essential that everyone have the same goal, only that everyone in the group is aware of everyone else's goal. That being said, I think a common goal makes for more effective groups.
Does everyone write the same format (short stories? Screenplays? Novels?)
Does everyone write the same genre?
As far as having things in writing goes, my groups have always been informal, and we've just met as friends. I've never needed anything in writing. But it all depends on how well you know (and trust) the participants...
posted
While I saw several MNDA's out there when I googled it, most of them seemed to be written for a business or corp, and I could not find anything that fit the somewhat different needs of a group of artists sharing ideas. All our members are pursuing professional writing, some having already been published. And as we are opening it up to new people (new perspectives are always great!) I really want to make sure the NDA is rock solid with legal ramifications stipulated, so unfortunately the one that Rich posted would not be quite what I'm looking for either.
I do trust most of our current participants, but we've all been involved in the film and other industries long enough that we're aware of how easily someone can turn on you if it benefits them, so all of us are comfortable with the idea of a fairly solid NDA. I guess it may come down to begging one of my lawyer friends to write one up for me, but I'd hoped someone already running a professional workshop might happen to have one on hand or know where to get exactly what I'm looking for. Thank you for the feedback though.
Firstly, the work you are discussing in the writers group is automatically protected by copyright and anyone distributing such work is subject to prosecution. Many industry NDAs exist because the work they protect is not protected by copyright.
Secondly, unless you have a lawyer prepare a legal document there's a good chance it's going to have loopholes you're not aware of.
And lastly, other writing groups, such as this one, or critters, don't have anything quite so formal (so far as I know).
Basically, our "rules" were set up because we have 30 writers in our group, and to level set everyone on what's expected.
Quite frankly, if you're concerned about "legal ramifications" then maybe you shouldn't start a writing group. When I went to OSC's boot camp, I don't believe I signed anything.
posted
I have already said that me and the other members find it neccessary, I don't really wish to debate that. I am simply trying to find out if someone happens to have one handy or know where I can find one, that is all. If not I will keep looking or talk to some friends of mine that are entertainment attorneys and have them write one up.
Posts: 5 | Registered: Jan 2010
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