What is a Collaboration Agreement?
A collaboration agreement is an agreement between two parties looking to work together on a project.
The agreement covers all of the important aspects of the working relationship, including the contributions of each party, share of profits, confidentiality and Intellectual Property rights.
A collaboration agreement allows two parties to combine resources and expertise. It can help to enter new markets, deliver new products, pursue larger or more complex projects, grow your audience or achieve a competitive advantage.
A collaboration agreement is often used for a special one-off project between two brands, or a business and an Influencer/Content Creator.
Do I need a contract for a collaboration?
Yes, absolutely! A contract protects both parties.
You need a proper written contract to enforce your rights and make sure your business is legally protected in case something goes wrong.
A Collaboration Agreement will help to set the ground rules in black and white so everyone is clear on their obligations and how everything will work.
Are there any other names for a Collaboration Agreement?
Yes, you might have also heard this contract referred to as a Brand Partnership Agreement, Influencer Agreement, Co-Branding Agreement, Project Collaboration Agreement, Business Collaboration Agreement or a Strategic Alliance Agreement.
All of them are basically the same thing, just different names for the contract you use for a collaboration on a project.
What does this Collaboration Agreement template include?
Our Collaboration Agreement template covers everything you need in the contract:
★ Term – length of the agreement
★ Deliverables – specific deliverables including due dates and who is responsible
★ Contributions of each party – what each party is bringing to the table
★ Remuneration / Profit Share – how profits will be split (e.g. 50/50)
★ Expenses – how expenses will be split
★ Intellectual Property – who owns any IP created during the collaboration
★ Exclusivity – optional clause we have included, allows you to make sure a brand collaboration is exclusive
★ Confidentiality
★ Termination – how you can end the collaboration
★ Dispute Resolution – what do if there is a disagreement
★ General – standard contract clauses such as Assignment, Severance, Entire Agreement, Waiver and Governing Law
Can I use this contract for a collaboration with an Influencer?
Yes, you can use our Collaboration Agreement template for a project with a social media influencer.
Our contract includes all of the important terms you need, such as deliverables, cancelling the collaboration, and exclusivity. This is so you can manage expectations for yourself and for the influencer.
Can we negotiate on the key terms of the agreement?
You bet!
Before you kick off your collaboration, you should discuss what each party is bringing to the table – including financial contributions, equipment/resources and “in-kind” (effort) contributions.
Don’t forget to decide on how you will handle Intellectual Property and who owns it – we have included four different options for you to choose from in the template.
What can I do if things don’t work out?
We have included a detailed Termination clause in the contract which allows you to exit the collaboration if things don’t work out, or you decide to go your separate ways.
How can we make sure that we are exclusive?
Our Collaboration Agreement template includes an Exclusivity clause which you can choose to use to make sure the collaboration is exclusive and the other party won’t work with other brands at the same time (including your competitors!).
What are some common issues with collaborations?
Here are some issues that often come up in collaborations:
- Someone who isn’t pulling their weight on the project is demanding an equal share of the profit
- One of the contributors wants to use their work in another project
- Another contributor doesn’t want anything to do with you anymore, and wants their work taken out
- A third party sues you over something that one of the collaborators put in the project
A Collaboration Agreement will help you to avoid these issues. It gives clarity to everyone involved so you know where you stand.
How much will each party get paid?
You should negotiate before you start to work out how and when you will be paid, and what the profit split will be, You could split everything 50/50, or you could choose a different percentage split.
Factors that could influence remuneration include the resources each party contributes (ie how much they put in!), how much time they spend on the collaboration or how much they sell (if you are working on a commission structure).
What about Intellectual Property?
It’s important to determine who owns any Intellectual Property created during the collaboration.
There are many different ways you can approach this:
- Joint ownership of IP
- Each party owns own IP
- Business owns IP and grants licence to other party
- Partner owns IP created by business and business is licenced to use it
Our Collaboration Agreement template contains wording for each option, so you can choose which approach you want to go with for your own collaboration project.
Is a Collaboration Agreement the same as a Partnership Agreement?
No, they are different.
A Partnership Agreement is a contract formed when two or more people who go into business together formalise the terms of a Partnership business structure into an agreement.
A Collaboration Agreement is an agreement between two parties looking to work together on a specific project, but they are separate business entities.
Is this Collaboration Agreement template legally binding?
Absolutely!
All of our templates have been drafted by qualified Australian lawyers who hold an Australian legal practicing certificate.
We are affiliated with a commercial law firm based in Sydney.
