Intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; and symbols, names and images used in commerce.

It’s been a hot topic amongst the Culture Collective projects, who are keen to ensure the rights of both participants and artists are understood and protected.

In December 2021 we curated a discussion panel and Q&A about Intellectual Property in community projects. We were joined on the panel by:

  • Katy Dow – Senior Solicitor specialising in Intellectual Property at Thorntons Law LLP.
  • Kirsty MacDonald – who shared her practical experience of working ethically in community-led practice, and
  • Hope London – former lawyer turned Culture Collective artist

This session concluded with a clear demand for access to Intellectual Property templates – legally robust documents that could be used by community projects to a) contract with artists and b) make agreements with participants.

We have worked with Thorntons Law to create these templates, which are available here for public use.

First, this guidance document is intended as a walk-through of the circumstances in which the templates are suitable for use, as well as addressing some FAQs. It also includes some sample wording for very simple (one line) participant agreements, for circumstances where a more formal contract isn’t desired.

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Intellectual property - Guidance document Opens in a new window Download File Opens in a new window↓

From there, we have three templates available for use:

  1. A consultancy agreement for use with freelance artists;
  2. A participant release form for participants over the age of 18;
  3. A participant release form for participants under the age of 18
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Intellectual property - consultancy agreement Opens in a new window Download File Opens in a new window↓
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Intellectual property - Participant release form (adults) Opens in a new window Download File Opens in a new window↓
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Intellectual property - Participant release form (under 18s) Opens in a new window Download File Opens in a new window↓

We’re sharing these templates for general use, for you to use and adapt for your projects. Thanks to Thorntons Law for their work on the creation of these templates.