The AP 2008 Contract Analysis - Section 5

Here's Section 5, followed by commentary:

Section 5. Payment. In exchange for accepting and performing Assignments and for the rights conveyed in Section 3 and Section 4 above , AP shall pay to Freelance Photographer an assignment fee provided for in writing in connection with each Assignment. Freelance Photographer must submit an invoice to the AP address shown on the notice of Assignment within 30 days of each Assignment. The invoice must be on the Freelance Photographer's personal business letterhead and it must itemize the Photographs made during the Assignment and the fee for the Assignment. Non-conforming invoices shall be returned to Photographer and payment shall not be made until a conforming invoice is submitted to AP. AP shall pay the undisputed amount of each submitted invoice within thirty (30) calendar days of receipt of the invoice. Any dispute about any invoice shall be resolved through good-faith and amicable discussion. Freelance Photographer acknowledges and agrees that Freelance Photographer shall be responsible for his or her own personal expenses (e.g., travel, accommodation, food, mileage and parking expenses) related to the Assignment and that AP will not reimburse Freelance Photographer for such expenses. AP may at its sole discretion adjust basic assignment rates to account for extraordinary assignment expenses.

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Comments:
It’s just not considerate to foist upon a freelancer a one-size-fits-all fee, which includes parking, mileage, and so forth. An assignment that requires the photographer to park at a downtown DC parking garage, for example, could incur $25 in parking, or a comparable figure in taxis to and from the assignment. This alone amounts to about 10% of the assignment fee. Expenses should be and additional amount. Parking doubtfully will ever be allowed as an “extraordinary” expense, for example.

Could be changed to:
This section could recognize the reality of being a photographer in a metropolitan area, where parking is an additional approved expense, as should mileage be. Including a sentence such as “Photographer may bill fair and reasonable expenses directly associated with the completion of the assignment, such as parking, mileage, and so forth.”

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Continue Reading:

• The 2008 AP Contract Analysis - Introduction
• The 2008 AP Contract Analysis - Opening Recitations
• The 2008 AP Contract Analysis - Section 1
• The 2008 AP Contract Analysis - Section 2
• The AP 2008 Contract Analysis - Section 3
• The AP 2008 Contract Analysis - Section 4
• The AP 2008 Contract Analysis - Section 5
• The AP 2008 Contract Analysis - Section 6
• The AP 2008 Contract Analysis - Sections 7,8 & 9
• The AP 2008 Contract Analysis - Rates

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