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This is a draft of a standard agency agreement.
Dear Writer
This confirms the terms under which you appoint The McKernan Agency as your exclusive agents to represent and market throughout the world the rights in all works written by you including but not limited to book, electronic publishing, newspaper and magazine, motion picture, stage, radio, television, audio and video rights and print journalism (where you elect to put it through us).
We will represent your professional interests to the best of our ability and receive payments due on your behalf.
As our non-refundable agency commission from the sale, lease or licence of your work in the United Kingdom and British Commonwealth we will retain 15% of all gross monies from all transactions entered into or under negotiation during the term of this agreement except on television where we will charge 10%. We take no responsibility for dealing with Public Lending Right, nor do we take commission on revenue accruing from this source.
We will market your work in the USA and its dependencies, and in foreign language markets throughout the world and will retain 15% of gross monies unless a third agency has to be involved in which case this may vary.
We will remit to you within 10 days of receipt of all monies due as collected after the deduction of the relevant commission plus VAT, if applicable, and any extraordinary expenses incurred on your behalf. Such expenses may include, but are not limited to, the cost of photocopying or typing scripts, books or tapes ordered for submission on your behalf, indexing costs, subscriptions, bank charges in relation to remittances, courier charges, and any agreed legal costs. We do not provide expert advice on tax or VAT, and you should consult a specialist in these areas.
If you are resident abroad we will be required to deduct withholding tax from UK monies due to you and pay it to the Inland Revenue unless clearance is obtained. You will be responsible for obtaining any clearance but we can supply the relevant forms.
Should any monies due to you which are covered by these terms be paid direct to you or to any other party on your behalf, such as collecting society income our commission due on such gross amounts should be sent to us within 10 days of receipt or will otherwise be deductible by us from other monies held in your account with us.
Mail sent to you care of us may be opened and dealt with unless it is clearly of a personal nature, in which case it will be forwarded to you promptly.
You will forward immediately to us any commercial enquiry in respect of your literary work.
While all due care will be taken, we will not be liable for loss of or damage to any manuscript, photographic, illustrative or other material submitted to us and in our care, with a third party or in transit and you are advised to keep copies of all such items.
This agreement is effective immediately and will continue until either you or we have terminated it by giving to the other 28 days' notice in writing. It is understood that following termination we will continue to function as agent and to receive our commission irrevocably on all contracts under negotiation or concluded during the life of this agreement or which later extend, renew or replace such contracts.
It is understood that following termination if there are unsold foreign, American or film rights on titles where UK rights have already been sold by The McKernan Agency any commissions received by the new agency will be split 50/50.
Any failure to enforce any of these terms will not operate as a waiver of the right to do so on another occasion.
Please confirm our appointment and your agreement to these terms of business, which are intended to be binding on your successors and assigns, by signing and returning the enclosed duplicate copy of this letter.
Please keep the original for your own records.
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