Photography Clearances & Licensing Manager
Marcom Business Affairs
Contractor | Level 4
Culver City Hybrid - On-site
Job Summary
Marcom is Apple’s Global Marketing Communications group. We oversee Apple’s advertising and marketing to ensure the flawless development and execution of world-class communications.
The role of a Photography Clearances & Licensing Manager at Apple is to oversee clearances and licensing responsibilities for projects in collaboration with the Marcom Photo Business Affairs Manager and Photo Producers at all stages of the creative and production process to identify rights issues and propose alternative solutions for Apple's worldwide marketing materials.
Key Qualifications
- Minimum 7-10 years of relevant, photography industry experience at a production company, advertising agency, film studio, television network, or in archival research/clearances
- Deep subject matter expertise garnered through years of demonstrable, practical experience addressing real-world rights licensing issues
- Ability to draw conclusions from working knowledge of issues and risks that impact the area of rights licensing, including copyright and trademark law, union/guild issues, public domain, fair use, defamation, and rights of publicity
- Ability to apply concepts such as Most Favored Nation and split copyright percentages in practical situations, such as budgeting and tracking reports
- Ability to identify, with accuracy, the spectrum of rights-managed IP frequently found in production environments, including but not limited to designer props, wardrobe, artwork, brands, furniture, textiles, patterns, and more
- Proficiency in analyzing and interpreting complex license agreements
- Proficiency in all current document and database systems
- Experience in presenting rights and licensing-related topics to client groups and employees
- Extensive, up-to-date industry knowledge on licensing issues across above-the-line and below-the-line media
- Exceptional organizational, prioritization, and time management skills
- Proactive contributor who can work independently and collaboratively
- Demonstrated ability to lead multiple complex projects simultaneously
- Strong written and verbal communication skills, along with strong interpersonal skills, including the ability to effectively interact with a diverse range of personalities and styles to establish effective relationships across the organization
- Self-motivated, flexible, and comfortable navigating rapid change with poise and decorum in a fast-paced, deadline driven environment
- Excellent negotiation skills
- Ability to handle high-level responsibilities
- Dynamic and inquisitive problem solver who consistently seeks solutions through thoughtful questioning and in-depth analysis.
Description
- Collaborate closely with the Marcom Photo Business Affairs Manager and Photo Producers to understand marketing deliverables, draft production or licensing agreements, and negotiate usage rights for talent, photography, illustrations, and more.
- Conduct copyright and trademark research and facilitate clearance requests.
- Coordinate and execute licensing agreements with external parties within the United States and globally
- Negotiate licenses and permissions with copyright owners of various media
- Negotiate talent upgrade fees when licensing terms necessitate an extension.
- Provide Production teams with general Business Affairs support pertaining to their projects.
- Assist in initiating and managing risk-related conversations with cross-functional stakeholders
- Maintain regular communication with team leads to ensure proper information flow, clear action items, and timely issue resolution.
- Track and process all license payments, and ensure timely execution and payment of licenses.
- Utilize existing rights management systems to track and report the availability of programming for distribution to various departments.
- Work alongside Legal to review and draft license agreements.
- Manage a heavy workload of third-party clearances
- Attend kickoff meetings with creative and production teams
