A new edition of the WOLEP Webinars - Lawyer Selene Snippe (The Netherlands) provided insights into Guest Agreements

Guests agreements, the topic of the most recent WOLEP Webinar, are part of a series of legal templates that Selene offers entrepreneurs through her contract shop, where she provides ready-made contract templates that make it a lot easier for online entrepreneurs and (content) creators to stay ahead of the game, legal-wise.

The guest agreement is an agreement between the host of a platform (such as a social media platform, YouTube channel, podcast or webinar) and a person appearing as a guest on that platform.

As to why she chose this specific topic, Selene stated: „Nowadays, you can not run a business without personal branding, which means that you have to put your face on different platforms like social media, or even your own podcast or YouTube channel or your own webinar, but also on the platforms of others as well, on which you are the guest. For example, in this case, I am a guest presenting on this WOLEP Webinar. So, since most of you here are solo practitioners or running a law firm yourselves, this would be relevant to you, too, since, obviously, you are also a guest on other webinars or maybe presenting online, or maybe even being a guest on a podcast. So, I thought this would be a great topic to talk to lawyers about.”

Moving forward, our member from Amsterdam explained what a guest agreement represents by comparing it to the release form, noting that, although there are some similarities between the two, the former is a „more comprehensive mutual agreement, containing all the elements of the release form, but it also contains provisions as to the practical process of the collaboration, and it is also very elaborate on the purposes and the locations where that IP may be used, and also the term if compensation is paid”. According to Selene, a guest agreement is also very specific about what each party may do with the recording and what they can use it for, but also, even more importantly, what they can not do with the said recording.

The benefits and legal safeguards of guest agreements

Our guest speaker also pointed out the benefits that a guest agreement carries, both for the host (the owner of the platform or account) and the guest. As for the latter, a guest agreement ensures that there is no misrepresentation of him/her or his/her brand, that they are not used for paid advertising and also that they have the right to use the recording for their benefit, amongst others.

The presentation also highlighted the key terms that should be contained in a guest agreement, with Ms. Snippe noting that „money changes everything. If that host has a large audience, it might be worth to either assign your rights or be given exclusive license as the guest. In any case, I would always push for an exclusive license because then at least you have some sort of control over what purposes and where it can be used”. Different scenarios of monetization were analysed, with the best guest agreement clauses and legal protections reviewed by our WOLEP expert. Ms. Snippe advised on being very specific in the terms of your agreement, for example, when defining platforms where the content is used or the negative effects that unethical/improper use can have on your brand.

The ensuing Q&A session provided the WOLEP members with a chance to further the topic under discussion by addressing questions to our speaker while also sharing knowledge and legal insights. As a result, WOLEP participants had a better chance of spotting chances for cooperation and getting to know one another. We were glad to welcome new attendees, such as WOLEP members Mr. Sebastiano Cavarra (Italy), Mr.  Fokalbo Cogito (Chad) and Mr. William Fernando Buitrago Valderrama (Colombia), aside from regulars such as Mr. Mohamadou Aminou (Rwanda).

Please note that WOLEP members have free access to the PPT presentation made available by Ms. Snippe and WOLEP.

You can watch the recording of the WOLEP Webinar featuring our expert Selene Snippe below:

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