General Services Agreement

1. General Services Agreement. This General Services Agreement shall be deemed to be included in its entirety in any contract between the Client and Mills James, and no other form, purchase order or acceptance by Client will in any manner change or modify this General Services Agreement without the express written consent of Mills James. Any such proposal is hereby objected to and shall not form a part of the contract between the parties.

2. Quotations/Statements of Work. Statements of Work are provided upon request and constitute an Offer to the Client by Mills James. All quotes to be binding must be in writing and will be open for the number of days noted in the Statement of Work. Final fees will be shown on the invoice issued to the Client. Client’s approval of a change order will be obtained for any increase in fees and expenses that exceed the accepted Statement of Work. Acceptance of any Offer constitutes acceptance of the provisions in this General Services Agreement, including the limitation of Mills James liability. Acceptance shall be binding on the Client, its successors, and assigns.

3. Changes/Revisions. Client shall be responsible for making additional payments for any changes requested by the Client in the original assignment. However, no additional payments shall be made for changes required to conform to the original assignment description in the Statement of Work. The Client shall offer Mills James the first opportunity to make any changes.

4. Work that Goes Dormant. If production on a project is placed on hold by the Client or goes dormant for more than 30 days, Mills James reserves the right to exercise any of the following options:

  • Re-evaluate and re-quote the work necessary to complete the project when it reopens.
  • Close the project and invoice the Client for work performed to date.
  • Reassign the project to a new producer/project manager for job completion.

5. Payment. The Client shall pay for all work as follows: 50% upon execution of the Statement of Work (SOW) agreement, with balance due upon completion of agreement, unless superseded by a different payment schedule specified in the executed SOW. All invoices are payable within thirty (30) days of the invoice date. Thereafter, a 1.5% charge shall be payable on any overdue balance (prorated daily). In the event Mills James is required to pursue the collection of any amount, the Client hereby agrees to indemnify and save Mills James harmless with respect to any and all costs of collection, including attorney and collection agency fees, regardless of whether a lawsuit is actually filed. Client further agrees to execute all documents necessary to effect a Confession of Judgment against the Client in the event the amount owed is outstanding for more than 90 days.

6. Claims for Adjustment. Claims for all charges for facilities, equipment, materials, and services judged by the Client to be made in error, must be brought to the attention of Mills James, in writing, within twenty (20) days of the date of the invoice. If no claim is made within that period, the amount shown on the invoice will be final and conclusive.

7. Taxes and/or Tariffs. The Client agrees to pay any taxes associated with and charged for the services provided by Mills James, including, without limitations, any sales or use taxes. Such amounts shall be in addition to the amount quoted to the Client.

8. Mills James Lien. Mills James shall have a lien, and the Client hereby grants Mills James a lien on all materials, equipment, and any components or other elements provided by or ordered by the Client until the Client’s account is paid in full. In the event the Client fails to pay its account in full within 90 days, Mills James may convert any materials, equipment, and any components or other elements to cash in any manner it deems appropriate and applies the receipts therefrom, net of the costs of pursuing such action, to the Client’s outstanding balance due. Any remaining balance shall continue as a valid debt of the Client. Failure to pay any invoice when due shall result in the cancellation and termination of any license or assignment of any rights with respect to the work of Mills James.

9. Client Responsibility: Copyright. The Client warrants that it has the sole legal right to possession and use of all elements delivered to Mills James. The Client will not request Mills James to use or duplicate any element to which the Client does not possess adequate intellectual property rights. The Client assumes all liability, under copyright and other Intellectual Property laws and under any services for the Client, and agrees to indemnify and hold Mills James free and harmless of all suits, claims for damages and other liability and expense, which may arise either directly or indirectly or by reason of services performed by Mills James for the Client. Furthermore, the Client warrants that any finished project delivered by Mills James will only be used as defined by the bid or Statement of Work for the project. The Client will assume and bear the cost of any defense required by Mills James by reason of any claim of infringement for any reason or the Client’s breach of this paragraph.

10. Image Rights. The licenses for stock footage, stock photography, and other third-party intellectual property provided through Mills James are specific to the work outlined in the Statement of Work and may not be used on other projects without relicensing.

11. Music Rights. Mills James has licensing agreements with several music libraries and independent composers and extends these rights to the Client on a project-by-project basis specific to the work outlined in the Statement of Work. Music rights are not transferable and may have market and regional limitations.

12. Talent Rights. The use of paid talent for any work may be limited to certain content, materials, media, territories, and/or terms outlined in the Statement of Work. Talent rights with usage limits are not transferable without relicensing.

13. Releases. Prior to Mills James undertaking any work hereunder, the Client will obtain and provide Mills James all releases necessary for Mills James to perform its work for the Client. The Client hereby agrees to indemnify and hold harmless Mills James from and against all claims, damages, actions, or expenses, including attorney’s fees, arising out of or related to the Client’s failure to obtain the proper release of any material used by Mills James. The Client will assume and bear the cost of any defense required by Mills James by reason of any claim of infringement or improper use.

14. Intellectual Property Rights. Excluding any nontransferable third party image, music, and talent rights defined in Paragraphs 10, 11 and 12, Mills James hereby grants Client, upon full payment of amounts due Mills James, a royalty-free, exclusive, copyright license to reproduce, distribute, display, and create derivative works from the work created by Mills James in the manner set forth in the Statement of Work.

15. Archival Rights; Services. Mills James may but shall have no duty to archive copies of any aspect of the work or service performed by Mills James, including the storage of videotape or digital project assets. Upon completing the project, Mills James will archive masters for future distribution but will not assure that other assets associated with the project will remain in digital storage for more than three (3) years. Digital assets created six (6) or more years ago may not be retrievable today. Such archives shall be the exclusive property of Mills James. Unless specifically required, digital assets may be deleted, and taped assets may be recycled without notification. Unless specifically detailed in this General Services Agreement, the disposition of all assets, including physical and digital, are at the discretion of Mills James. If the Client wishes Mills James to archive copies for the benefit of the Client, such service will be separately invoiced to the Client as Mills James and the Client may agree.

16. Limitation of Mills James Liability. Mills James’ liability with respect to any product, work, or service delivered to or provided for the Client shall be specifically limited to the replacement of the product or the return of the fee paid by the Client. In no event shall Mills James be liable for any special, consequential, incidental, exemplary, or punitive damages, including but not necessarily limited to damages for lost profits, loss of use, lost property, or for any damages or other amounts paid by the Client to a third party. This limitation of Mills James’ liability shall apply without regard to the basis of the claim, whether in contract, warranty, negligence or other tort, breach of statutory duty or obligation, the failure to achieve an essential purpose, or otherwise. Mills James expressly disclaims all warranties and representations, express or implied, including but not limited to any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Further, Client will hold Mills James harmless for any damage, loss, or other expense for the breach of any warranty, and by reason of the acts or failure to act by any third party or for any delay caused by circumstances or events beyond its control, including, without limitation, Acts of God, fire, storms, floods, pandemics, power or telecommunications outages, labor disputes or acts of terrorism.

17. Disposition of Client Property. Mills James will confirm with the Client the handling of client-provided production elements and materials (items may include, but are not limited to, video footage, photography, sets, props, collateral materials, and signage) at the time the job is scheduled. When materials are to be returned, the Client will indicate the method of delivery. Options include a) ship via Client’s courier or b) ship via Mills James courier, with courier fee charged to the Client. When the Client is responsible for courier pick-up, Mills James will hold the materials for up to a four-week period. Should the Client require extended storage, the Client will notify Mills James and determine any additional fees.

In the absence of specific instructions from the Client on the disposition of production elements and materials, the Client hereby agrees to indemnify and hold Mills James harmless from and against all claims, damages, actions, or expenses, including attorney’s fees, arising out of or related to the disposition of production elements and materials.

18. Force Majeure. Neither Party shall be liable for failure to perform obligations under this agreement if the failure results from events beyond its control, including, without limitation, Acts of God, fire, storms, floods, pandemics, power or telecommunications outages, labor disputes or acts of terrorism. If an event is cancelled due to a force majeure event, Client will reimburse Mills James for unrecoverable out-of-pocket expenses, which shall be paid to Mills James within 30 days following Mill James submission of an invoice compliant with this agreement.

19.0. Creative and Facility Services

19.1. Charges and Rates. Facility services charges are computed from Client arrival or scheduled start time, whichever is earlier, to completion. Session rates are generally billed at ½ hour minimums, in ¼ hour increments thereafter. Delays during a session are charged to the Client unless caused by facility-related issues. Regardless of the cause of any delay, Mills James will have no responsibility or liability to the Client for such delays.

Creative services staff, including writers, producers, directors, and production assistants, are billed hourly. Overtime labor is billed at 1.5 times the hourly rates for any work performed beyond 10 hours a day and up to 12 hours a day. Double time labor is billed at 2.0 times the hourly rate for any work performed beyond 12 hours a day.

Production crews and equipment charges are computed portal-to-portal and are based on ten (10) hour days. Overtime labor is billed at 1.5 times the hourly rates for any work performed beyond 10 hours a day and up to 12 hours a day. Double time labor is billed at 2.0 times the hourly rate for any work performed beyond 12 hours a day.

Charges for all facilities, equipment, materials, and services provided by Mills James shall be in accordance with Mills James’ rate card unless otherwise agreed to in writing. Rush or weekend surcharges may apply to some products and services. Mills James reserves the right to include in its charges a markup on any costs of rental, materials, or services obtained on behalf of Client.

19.2. Facility and Location Shoot Cancellations. If the Client has booked Mills James’ facilities, equipment, crew, and services on a tentative basis, such bookings shall be considered to be a firm booking upon the earliest occurrence of the following events:

    • Twenty-four (24) hours before the scheduled start time of Mills James services, if Client has not canceled services.
    • Client requests firm booking any time prior to twenty-four (24) hours before scheduled start time.
    • Mills James notifies the Client that another Client has requested a firm booking for the same services and time and, thus, the Client requests a firm booking. If the Client elects not to firm a booking upon such notification, the tentative booking shall be considered canceled.

At least 24 hours’ notice is required to cancel a facility service or location shoot without a cancellation fee. Rescheduling the day of will be treated as a cancellation. These fees are billed at the full rate of services canceled, either hourly or by the day.

20.0. Meetings and Live Events

20.1. Project Cancellations. Cancellation of a project after Mills James has been awarded the work will result in a cancellation charge for all expenses incurred and services rendered to date. Additionally, cancellation of a project within one-month of its due date or the date of a live event will result in an additional charge equal to 50% of the estimated project price. If the cancellation occurs within one week of its due date or the date of a live event, it will result in a charge equal to 75% of the estimated project price. Upon cancellation and payment, Mills James will return all Client property.

20.2. Venues for Live Events. The Client shall take all reasonable steps to safeguard the health, safety, and welfare of Mills James personnel while at the venue, safeguard equipment from theft, loss, or damage, and give Mills James adequate notice of any unusual risks. Where the Client has chosen the venue or meeting facility, Mills James shall not be responsible for venue deficiencies that could negatively impact the event, including, but not limited to, poor acoustics, insufficient power to operate lighting and other equipment, COVID-19 contact risk, noise from HVAC or other building mechanicals, and insufficient or inadequate rigging points. The Client shall secure from the venue for Mills James, on request, copies of certificates of compliance and structural engineering data verifying the adequacy of the venue’s structure to ensure that rigging, truss, and other flown equipment is safe, workable, and respects the designed load limits of the building. The Client will take all reasonable actions to safeguard the employees and equipment of Mills James.

21. COVID-19-Related Cancellations. In the event of production or event cancellations that result from COVID-19-related shutdowns due to government decree or contact risks deemed by relevant state or local Departments of Health or the CDC to warrant cancellation, Client will be responsible for any unrecoverable out of pocket costs Mills James incurs that are beyond its control. Further, Mills James will not be responsible for or incur any liability or other cost or expense because of such delay.

If any employee of Mills James is required to be quarantined, Mills James reserves the right to replace such employee for the duration of the contract with the Client.

22. Production Screen Credit. Mills James shall receive a conspicuous screen credit in any long-format program production intended for broadcast, cable, or satellite distribution.

23. Promotion. Mills James may wish to use excerpts of any production or work provided to the Client for Mills James’ own promotional purposes and will request Client permission before doing so.

24. Refusal of Work. Mills James has the right to refuse to work with material which it deems to be misleading, indecent, libelous, unlawful, or is otherwise prejudicial to the Client’s or Mills James’ interest.

25. Waiver. No waiver by Mills James of one or more of the provisions in this General Services Agreement or any defaults hereunder shall constitute a waiver of the remaining provisions or any future defaults hereunder. No failure or delay by Mills James in exercising or enforcing any right hereunder shall operate as a waiver thereof or preclude any other exercise or enforcement of rights hereunder.

26. Severability. Any provision of this General Services Agreement that is prohibited or unenforceable under the laws of the State of Ohio shall be ineffective to the extent of such prohibition or unenforceability, without impairing or invalidating the remaining provisions of this General Services Agreement.

27. Choice of Law; Venue. This Agreement shall be deemed made in and shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Ohio applicable to contracts entered into and performed solely in Ohio. The Client hereby consents to jurisdiction in the courts of Franklin County, Ohio, and agrees that any claims made by Client shall be brought in Franklin County, Ohio.

28. Additional or Inconsistent Terms. Any terms outlined in any purchase order provided to us by the Client, which is in any way different from, inconsistent with, or in addition to the provisions set forth herein will not become a part of this General Services Agreement or be binding upon us. If the Client objects to any term set forth herein, this objection must be in writing and received by us prior to delivery of the services. Failure of Mills James to object to terms contained in any communication from the Client will not be a waiver of the terms set forth herein. The Client shall not condition any delivery upon the abrogation or modification of any of this General Services Agreement.

 

Rev 6/27/23