Legal Question in Entertainment Law in California
Terminatiion of agency contract
With this statement,
�I hereby accept that this agreement will have an initial terms of (1) one year from the date first written below, and shall be extended from year to year thereafter unless 30 days written notice of
termination is given by one party to the other.�
Am I to understand that if I terminate my contract within 30 days, the initial terms of one years
is no longer honored or am I stuck with this agent for at least one year. Being that I do not see a
period between the initial term and a 30 day notice I would assume by terminating my agent and giving a 30 day notice I no longer have a year contract.
The reason I ask is I�m in the process of writing a book, I�ve submitted my proposal to an
agent and to make a long story short, didn�t like his approach to my book or his changes. I felt
he was misrepresenting my book and therefor decided to terminate him. However, he refuse to go and now I�m stuck with him for a year. All I can think of is this �loop hole� but is it a good
enough �loop hole?� by the way, the agency is in New York if that makes a differeance.
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Terminatiion of agency contract
You would appear to be correct but I'd need to read the contract to be certain.
Re: Terminatiion of agency contract
Year to Year means just that. If you fail to give notice during at least 30 days prior to the end of the term, the contract renews, and you're correct... you'd be stuck with him for another year.
There may be other ways to get out of the deal, especially if you're in california and the agent isn't licensed here.
One thing you can do is give notice of termination effective at the end of the current year. Unless the contract is very unusual, you can give notice anytime AT LEAST 30 days prior to the end of the term. The downside is that the agent is unlikely to do ANYTHING for you during the interval.
Related Questions & Answers
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
