FAQ - Buying Ideas

What happens when I buy an idea? You buy an idea by licensing it. This is either

1. for twelve months for a limited territory.
2. for twelve months in territories you specify or worldwide.
3. in perpetuity, for a limited territory.
4. in perpetuity in territories you specify or worldwide.

The price of a perpetual licence is twice that of a twelve month licence. It is important that Buyers realise that when they license an idea from OpenAd.net, they are licensing only the concept that is, the Creative's presentation and combination of the components of the idea rather than the components themselves. Those components (photography, music, illustrations, layout, etc) must be licensed separately by the Buyer. Here are two examples to illustrate this:

1. A Creative uses a photograph from Corbis' photostock, (which they are entitled to do free of charge under OpenAd.net's agreement with Corbis) as part of a Print ad, and a Buyer decides to license and produce that idea. The Buyer must purchase that photograph from Corbis before any further production using that photograph can take place.
   More on the Corbis agreement
2. A Creative owns the copyright to a piece of music used in a Radio ad, (i.e. he composed it himself, or purchased it) that is licensed by a Buyer. The licence fee paid by the Buyer does not include any further licence fee for that piece of music; this must be negotiated separately. As Buyers and Creatives are aware, music copyright is a particularly complex area of law. No music that is not fully owned by a Creative may form part of any idea submitted to OpenAd.net. Creatives may, of course, suggest a piece of music to accompany their idea, but they may not upload the music itself. If the Buyer decides to follow the Creative's suggestion, they will have to license the music in question separately

Can I buy ideas on behalf of a client? Yes. Resellers and agencies are welcome to search for and buy ideas from the Gallery, and to hold pitches. You must supply all relevant details on your client for price calculation purposes. These details include information about how the idea is to be used, the company's revenue, country of origin, target markets and terms of licensing. I've seen an idea I like in the Gallery. How do I buy it? Where the idea appears in the Gallery, just click on 'License now' or the shopping cart icon and follow the onscreen instructions. What can I do with an idea after I have bought it? When you buy an idea you acquire an exclusive, non-transferable twelve month or perpetual licence to use, reproduce, distribute, display, publicly perform, exhibit, broadcast, transmit, make available or otherwise use the product within the specified territory for the purposes of advertising and communications. If I wish to develop an idea I have bought, do I have to work with the creative? You are under no obligation to do so. You may wish to produce the idea in partnership with the Creative. For example, you could negotiate with the Creative to develop further executions for your idea. Can I return an idea I have bought? No, ideas cannot be returned once they have been bought. Can I expand the territory of use of an idea I have licensed? Contact licence@openad.net to expand the territory or extend duration of your licence. Can I extend a twelve month licence? You can extend a twelve month licence for a further period of twelve months, or decide to license the idea for perpetual use. Contact licence@openad.net to extend a twelve month licence. Can an idea be re-licensed by another Member after the expiry of a twelve month licence? No. Ideas are sold to buyers on an exclusive basis and can therefore never be re-licensed by anyone else. Can I buy elements of an idea rather than the whole idea? No. However, if you felt certain elements of the idea were not right for your brand, you may choose to discard them after purchase. Can I negotiate the price for an idea? No, prices on OpenAd.net are non-negotiable. Prices of ideas are set by the Creative during the submission process. Creatives have two pricing options: they can either set their own price, or they can use the OpenAd.net standard pricing system. OpenAd.net standard prices are calculated according to four criteria:

1. the size and power of the market in which the idea will be used
2. the size of the Buyer's revenue
3. the quantity and types of elements in the idea
4. the duration of the licence (twelve months or in perpetuity).

Each of these variables is a multiplying factor for the price. If Creatives choose to set their own price, the price applies for worldwide use (anywhere/any market), for any company, regardless of size or revenue, and in perpetuity. If you hold a pitch you may set the price you are willing to pay for the best idea or ideas. This can never be overridden by a Creative who is replying to the pitch. What is the 'price calculator' and how do I use it? The price calculator is a tool that is available when the Creative has opted to use the OpenAd.net standard pricing system. Specify the idea you would wish to buy, the revenue of your company, and the region or country in which you expect the idea to be used. Using your parameters, the price calculator can automatically calculate both the price for a twelve month licence and the price for perpetual use. What happens if I enter false data when setting the price of an idea in order to pay less? Members are obliged at all times to provide accurate and truthful information about themselves when registering, becoming a Member and doing business on OpenAd.net. OpenAd.net regularly reviews Members' data to ensure that such errors, whether intentional or unintentional, are avoided. What happens if I use an idea without buying it? This would constitute a breach of copyright law and of the contracts signed by you when you became a Member of OpenAd.net. OpenAd.net regularly monitors Members' marketing communications for possible infringements of intellectual property rights. If a Creative suspects that their idea has been used without a purchase having been made, and if they are able to provide reasonable and sufficient evidence of an infringement of intellectual property, an investigation will be made. The Creative will be allowed access to a detailed log of the Member's browser history on OpenAd.net. Can I negotiate licence terms and extensions directly with an author? No. All such negotiations must be conducted through OpenAd.net. Are the ideas published on OpenAd.net registered? Submitting an idea to OpenAd.net is a form of idea registration in itself. However, we do advise Creative to obtain additional proof of authorship. How do I pay for an idea? If you are buying an idea from the Gallery, you may pay by credit card or bank transfer. However, please note that if you are buying from a pitch, only bank transfer is possible. To arrange payment by bank transfer, contact purchase@openad.net. You will need to provide the following information:

• the code of the idea you wish to buy
• the licence term (12 months or perpetuity);
• the territory or territories in which the idea will be used or published
• your OpenAd account number
• your bank account information (account number, bank name and address, sort code, SWIFT code and IBAN number).

Can I pay by credit card? Credit card payment is only available for the purchase of ideas in the Gallery. If you are buying from a pitch, only bank transfer is possible. Similarly, all other transactions on OpenAd.net, (membership purchase, membership upgrade) must be made by bank transfer. How are ideas delivered? After purchase, you can view ideas in 'My OpenAd', under the section 'My Buys'.