Am I financially responsible?

[dogglebe]

My state is New York.

Last January, I agreed to let an amateur filmmaker produce a movie short I wrote. It was a verbal agreement and I received no money for it. Since then, nothing (that I can tell) has been done regarding this production and the producer doesn't reply to my e-mails anymore.

I would like to withdraw permission for him to produce my work (I have the copyright on it). If I do, am I responsible for any of his expenses regarding the project?

I live in New York. He lives in Kentucky.


Phil

 

[divgradcurl]

My state is New York.

Last January, I agreed to let an amateur filmmaker produce a movie short I wrote. It was a verbal agreement and I received no money for it. Since then, nothing (that I can tell) has been done regarding this production and the producer doesn't reply to my e-mails anymore.

I would like to withdraw permission for him to produce my work (I have the copyright on it). If I do, am I responsible for any of his expenses regarding the project?

I live in New York. He lives in Kentucky.


Phil

Hard to say -- he would have to prove in court that he justifiably relied on your verbal agreement when he paid for certain expenses. Depending on what he can prove, I guess you have some exposure to liability. However, without a written contract, it's hard to see how he would be able to prove anything.

 

[dogglebe]

It was a very informal verbal agreement as we are both just starting out in the field of moviemaking. I wasn't as concerned with making money off this project as I was in having something to show around.


Phil