Creative Reviews and Ownership

Last week, we discussed Intellectual Property and Copyright. A recent article on adage.com focuses on Advertising Agencies and Intellectual Property: Agencies Defend Intellectual Property Rights in Reviews.

This article specifically deals with the creative process, where ideas, thoughts, and inventions are expressed and solidified during the review stage. The review is a collaborative effort in which the advertising agency and client exchange ideas and create a plan. An interesting aspect of the article concerns client rights and the rights of the advertising agency. It mentions that more and more advertisers and marketers want additional rights regarding what is produced during these reviews. Many of the contracts secretly decree that the client expects to own everything that results from the review process.

The reason for this is economical; they do not want to be sued if they choose another agency but end up with a finished product that is similar to another agency's ideas. For example, one agency may be less expensive to produce a similar idea with the same variety (or more) of avenues to distribute the product. This directly deals with property rights and who reaps the ultimate rewards and bragging-rights for the material. The issue raises the question of what would happen to creativity and productivity if Ad Agencies were bought out by clients for their work. This, in many ways, compromises the purpose of the Ad Agency, which is to produce material on behalf of another company, but still own the image or idea and use them as a way of promoting their services and talents.

It seems as if the Executive Vice President of the American Association of Advertising Agencies is taking a stand by encouraging all creative agencies to clarify what belongs to whom during the creative process. A letter was sent by the AAAA to its members with tips on how to protect their work. Hopefully an agreement is made that shields the agencies from unfairness and upholds the purpose of their services. Overall, if clients want to own the product that they hire an outside agency to produce, they are creating a selfish relationship in which they receive the longstanding rewards and benefits.