I always worry about the “fine print” in the contracts you have to sign. For example, in the TurnHere.com Independent Contractor Agreement, term #4 it says, “Independent Contractor agrees to verify all facts in the Film and Related Materials submitted”.

How can you reasonably “verify all facts in the Film”? That is quite an all-encompassing statement, in my opinion. If your subject says his name is “John Smith”, do you check his ID? If you don’t then you are technically out of compliance with this agreement.

The next sentence reads, “Independent Contractor will not include in any of the Film and Related Materials any material that is defamatory, offensive or that infringes upon or violates the rights of others or that is otherwise unlawful.”

It all seems reasonable except the “offensive” part. How can you insure that nothing you submit is offensive to somebody somewhere?

I’m sure they’re not trying to do anything underhanded and that the agreement was written by a lawyer that’s trying to cover every possible liability they might face. I just worry when I see such all inclusive language that seems to be open to such subjective interpretation.

I’d be interested in hearing if other independent contractors worry about this and what they do about it.

Thanks for sharing this interesting information.

Peace,

Rob:-]