I am a freelance video editor. I edited around 37 videos for a global brand. The project came to me through a 3rd party. So i was reporting to the 3rd party and the 3rd party was reporting to the brand. The music used in the video is under CC by 3.0 license. I realized this 4 days after the project was over. I informed the 3rd party to who i was reporting to and told him that the music is free but please mention the credits in the description since the music creator has asked to give credits while resing the music. I told him this 3 times in a span of 1.5 months. He said it should not be an issues, then he said its cool, and the 3rd time he said donât worry nothing will happen. I did my due diligence by texting my client and asking him to fix the problem. Is there a possibility of me being sued in the future for negligence, carelessness or for getting the client involved into an expenxice lawsuit.
THIS IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE. CONSULT AN ACTUAL ATTORNEY. DO NOT TRUST THE INTERNET TO BE YOUR LAWYER.
Right, now that thatâs out of the wayâŚ
Well I hope you kept those text messages.
In general, if you told the client (Your client, who was the â3rd partyâ), and he accepted that statement, as he seems to have done, then you would be fairly clear for any copyright violation claims being pushed down to you. You informed him of the requirements of the CC3 license; if he didnt comply (or pass that information on to the brand), thatâs his doing.
That said; The brand could theoretically go after your client for providing a product that they couldnât use (effectively, failing to complete the contract), which may trickle down to you⌠but itâd be a lot cheaper than a multinational copyright violation.
I recently text the 3rd party saying that Hey I hope the music bit has been sorted out since itâs under CC3 license and I donât want it to become a liability for anyone.
He replied back saying donât worry no one watches these videos
Sounds to me like heâs hedging his bets dangerously. Not the sort of client iâd keep doing business with, tbh.
Should i be worried about this incident affecting my future?
There was no contract or anything. Only an invoice that i directly sent to the brand and the brand has named me as an external partner in the emails
If I were you, iâd be more careful in future about making sure the information and expectations of using licensed music (whether you can use it or not, etc, established at the time of the contract)âŚ
⌠How did you get paid by a global brand without a contract in place to establish the work required and the payment terms? You donât really think brands just blindly pay out any invoice that is sent to them, do you?
Well there was no contract, just a bunch of emails where briefs, feedbacks and changes were discussed. The only official document is the invoice i sent the brand directly. The thought of being sued gives me anxiety attacks. Just want to be sure if telling the person that i was reporting to and asking him to fix the music credits is enough on my part
Problem number 1.
Problem number 2.
If youâre gonna be a professional freelancer, youâve really gotta shape this up. You need contracts. In hand. Before you do the work. Itâll help your anxiety; you wonât be having these sorts of panics, because youâve got the documents, you can hold them up in court and say âYour honor, the signed contract clearly statesâŚâ
Document everything. EVERYTHING.
Yes, i will definitely be more than careful in the future. Do you have any suggestions on how i could fix the current situation. I feel like if i tell the 3rd party again then heâll be like he already said its cool. And its been 2 months since the project is over. The videos have been uploaded on the brandâs app and you have to pay to watch those podcast videos
*user has to pay to watch the videos
Well at this point, what youâve got is what youâve got. Thereâs not a way to âfixâ the situation, if there even is a situation - if the brand put the CC3 licensing onto the app in compliance, then thereâs nothing to be sued over.
Nope. 14 sec of CC by 3.0 copyright music has been used and the brand has not credited the music creator anywhere. The music creator has mentioned in the YouTube description that reusing the music for commercial purpose is allowed as long as credit is given.
Just wanted to do the best i can at this point to keep myself away from future trouble if anything arises with regards to this
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