How to setup a legal agreement for writers and articles

Discussion in 'Legal Issues' started by jasonwilks, Jun 23, 2012.

  1. #1
    Hello, I am creating a site where I let users upload articles to me via a form and then I pay them via Paypal by basically a Tip (a fair price from good faith), and I would like to know If I did this correctly. I first give them an FAQ to read, then the form to fill out. I need to know the following:

    I need to know If legally I will own the rights of the article (and copyright) by the first 2 things to fill out on my form, which says:

    I agree that mywebsite.com will own the rights to your article if it gets published on this site.

    FIRST NAME / LAST NAME
    And an "I AGREE" check.


    Would this let me have the rights, or would I have to say something else?

    If you want to see a test setup of the form, here it is:

    http://www.timsbowling.com/test-page.html

    BTW, this stuff is in the video game market. I have been having users submit guides/articles for free occasionally and some of my website traffic suggested i do this. It seems to be a good idea to me.

    Also, please let me know what you guys think about this!? Any other suggestions or criticisms? Do you think just tipping people by saying a "fair price" via paypal is good to tryout, or do you think I really should use a legal agreement for people to upload their articles? Or maybe use both methods?

    The main thing I am concerned about is the legal agreement about me owning the copyright of the article once I put it on my site.

    Thanks!
     
    Last edited: Jun 23, 2012
    jasonwilks, Jun 23, 2012 IP