Understanding Evaluation Agreements
We’ve been talking a lot about Nondisclosure Agreements, also known as NDAs, but now it’s time to move on to a different type of document and discussion: evaluation agreements. So what’s an evaluation agreement? I know, a mouthful, right? Basically, this is an agreement that you can use with anyone who is going to be evaluating your product before you give it to him or her. And when we say “product,” we mean any work. For example, a singer might want the opinion of a producer, and would give the producer a copy of their demo recording along with a written comprehensive evaluation agreements to make sure the producer doesn’t steal his or her work.
Or maybe a musician is working on his music video, and he needs the opinion of a friend or business associate on whether or not the video media works. Again, he might want to have that person sign an agreement stating that they will keep quiet and not steal the idea for their own use. Here’s another way that businesses have to worry about evaluation agreements: in contract negotiations. Maybe two businesses are looking at entering into a contract, and as part of the negotiations, the company presenting the contract proposals has to provide copies of the contracts to each of the parties. In that case, the parties so receiving the contracts could set up an evaluation agreement, saying that they will only use the contracts for the purpose of evaluating the business transaction, and afterwards will destroy the copies of the contracts. This way, the intellectual property rights of the companies are protected.
Speaking of intellectual property rights, how can evaluation agreements protect the rights of a party? Well, if someone has invented something, and is trying to pitch that invention to a company, for example, that inventor will want to have the evaluator sign a written agreement, stating that they will not disclose the work to anyone else and will not attempt to recreate it for themselves. Otherwise, the rights of the inventor to the work are stolen, and that inventor could end up losing his or her patent. Or an author, for example, could use an evaluation agreement to get feedback on a book he or she is writing from anyone who might be able to provide that feedback. This way, he or she could receive all of the opinions and think about how to best incorporate them into his or her writing.
The fair use of media in television or film is another example of the use of evaluation agreements: writers and artists can base their designs and art on photographs or images as long as they only use the images for the specific purposes outlined in the contract. So if a contract states that a writer can only use a photograph of a painting or art piece for the purposes of an article, then that writer can’t use the picture of that painting in any other context, unless they renegotiate a new contract with that artist.
And what about in their day-to-day business? Businesses that want to come up with new products can use these evaluation agreements to solicit the opinions of their employees or close associates in order to find out if their products will be successful. This way, they can make adjustments where necessary and then present their products to consumers. So you see, even though evaluation agreements might sound like a lot of legal mumbo jumbo, they really can provide specific rights and guidelines for all parties involved. And when we’re talking about art, that’s definitely a benefit.
