Sports Law Clinic FAQs – Commercial

A. Technically, no you don’t. However, without a written contract there is no record of what has or hasn’t been agreed. Having a written contract can help avoid misunderstandings and reduce the risk of parties falling out. A written contract can also help with establishing your role as a contractor rather than an employee.

A. As a rule, if you are an independent contractor unless the contract says something different, anything you create belongs to you, with a licence for your client to use the materials for a limited time or limited purpose. There are variations on this, and some clients will want you to create bespoke content and programmes for them and will want ownership of the IP. If there is any overlap between the bespoke programme and what you use in your practice, it is important to ensure that this is correctly separated out and protected.

A. Cash is king and ensuring that you are paid for the work you have done is important for cash flow and business continuity. This is where a written contract containing your payment terms can help. You can stipulate your payment terms within your contract and state that interest is payable for every day that payment has not been made. Without a written contract, you may have to rely on statutory provisions for any interest payable, which is often only applicable for certain business-to-business relationships. You may also be able to include a clause within a written contract giving you the right to suspend services (for example, where there is a subscription) whilst payment is outstanding. Ultimately, you may be able to terminate the relationship and sue for any monies which are still outstanding.