OpenAd.net is an online platform for the buying and selling of advertising, marketing and design ideas (creative material). OpenAd.net acquires and manages material contributed by creatives (sellers, authors) and offers them for sale (licensing) to Members (buyers).
OpenAd.net transfers copyright, including all material rights in an idea, from the author of an idea to the Member. The precondition for the entry of any idea to OpenAd.net is that all intellectual property issues must be settled prior to submission. Authors must have full copyright ownership of all elements within any idea submitted to OpenAd.net.
Note
It is important that buyers realise that when they license an idea from OpenAd.net, they are licensing only the concept – that is, the author's presentation and combination of the elements of the idea – rather than the elements themselves. Those elements (photography, music, illustrations, layout, etc) must be licensed separately by the buyer. Here are two examples to illustrate this:
1. An author uses a photograph from the Corbis photostock library (which they are entitled to do free of charge under OpenAd.net's agreement with Corbis) as part of a print ad idea, 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.
2. An author owns the copyright to a piece of music used in a radio ad idea (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 an author may form part of any idea submitted to OpenAd.net. Authors 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 author's suggestion, they will have to license the music in question separately.
Buyers open a buyer's account, select a membership package by specifying the categories they wish to access, the number of users in their company entitled to access the account and the number of pitches they wish to hold in the membership period, and sign the Membership Agreement. Payment is by bank transfer only.
Members may purchase any idea that appears in a category to which they have access, and any idea entered in response to their pitch. Members must accept the Licence Agreement every time they license an idea on OpenAd.net. This agreement sets out the terms and conditions of licensing on OpenAd.net. Once a Member has indicated their acceptance, OpenAd.net sends them a copy of the Licence Agreement by email, as well as a hard copy by post. Receipt of the email and hard copy of the agreement by the Member is confirmation of their right to use the idea they have licensed.
It is OpenAd.net's firm aim to make the system as safe and transparent as possible for both buyers and sellers.
