Legal

Content Submission & License Agreement

Download as a Word document

HORIZON — CONTENT SUBMISSION & LICENSE AGREEMENT

This Content Submission & License Agreement (“Agreement”) is entered into between Horizon (“Company”) and the individual or entity submitting content through Company’s website or submission process (“Submitter”), effective as of the date Submitter accepts this Agreement electronically (“Effective Date”).

1. Purpose

Submitter wishes to submit one or more films, series, or other audiovisual works (each, a “Submission”) to Company for review, quality-control evaluation, and possible selection for inclusion in the Horizon TV application catalog (the “Platform”). This Agreement governs that submission and review process and the rights that apply if a Submission is selected.

2. Submission Process; No Obligation

  1. Submitter may submit one or more Submissions through Company’s designated submission form.
  2. Company will review each Submission for technical quality, content standards, and suitability for the Platform (“Review”).
  3. Company is under no obligation to select any Submission, to provide detailed feedback, or to complete Review within any particular timeframe. Selection is at Company’s sole discretion.
  4. Company will notify Submitter in writing (including by email) of the outcome of Review.

3. Submitter’s Representations and Warranties

Submitter represents and warrants that:

  1. Submitter owns all right, title, and interest in and to each Submission (subject to Section 4 for AI-generated or AI-assisted content), or holds all rights and clearances (including from co-writers, directors, performers, musicians, composers, and any other rights holders) necessary to submit the Submission and to grant the rights described in this Agreement;
  2. the Submission does not infringe, misappropriate, or violate any third party’s copyright, trademark, right of publicity, privacy right, or other intellectual property or proprietary right;
  3. the Submission complies with all applicable laws and does not contain any material that is unlawful, defamatory, or that Company reasonably determines to be unsuitable for the Platform’s audience; and
  4. Submitter has full legal authority to enter into this Agreement and, if selected, to grant Company the rights in Section 6.

4. AI-Generated and AI-Assisted Content

Copyright law in the United States currently protects only works with meaningful human authorship. Under prevailing U.S. Copyright Office guidance, content generated entirely by artificial intelligence with no meaningful human creative contribution (“Purely AI-Generated Content”) is not eligible for copyright protection. Content that reflects meaningful human authorship — for example, human-directed selection, arrangement, editing, or substantial creative modification of AI-generated elements — may be copyrightable to the extent of that human authorship (“AI-Assisted Content”). Copyright treatment of AI-generated material varies by jurisdiction and continues to evolve; Submitter and Company should each seek current legal guidance for any jurisdiction other than the United States.

  1. Submitter must accurately disclose, through the submission form, whether a Submission is Purely AI-Generated Content, AI-Assisted Content, or created without the use of AI, and whether Submitter holds copyright in it.
  2. The representation in Section 3(a) regarding ownership of “all right, title, and interest” applies only to the extent a Submission (or any element of it) is actually protected by copyright or other property rights under applicable law. Submitter is not required to, and cannot, warrant copyright ownership in Purely AI-Generated Content, because no such copyright exists to own.
  3. Company may decline to select, or may request additional disclosure or human-authorship documentation for, any Submission containing Purely AI-Generated Content.

5. Review License

During Review, and for so long afterward as reasonably necessary for Company’s recordkeeping and evaluation, Submitter grants Company a limited, non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to reproduce, store, stream, and privately screen the Submission solely for the purposes of Review, quality control, and internal evaluation. This Section 5 license does not itself permit public release, distribution, or inclusion on the Platform — that requires selection under Section 6.

6. Selection; Grant of License

  1. If Company selects a Submission for inclusion on the Platform, Company will notify Submitter, and the parties will agree in writing on the compensation described in Section 7 before the Submission is published on the Platform.
  2. Upon selection and Submitter’s countersignature of the selection notice (or other written confirmation), Submitter grants Company a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable license to reproduce, distribute, publicly perform, publicly display, stream, and otherwise exploit the selected Submission on the Platform and Company’s other distribution channels, in any media now known or later developed, including the right to sublicense to Company’s hosting, distribution, and advertising partners for that purpose (“License”). This License is non-exclusive: Submitter retains all right, title, and interest in and to the Submission, and remains free, both during and after the term of this Agreement, to license, distribute, sell, sublicense, or otherwise exploit the Submission on or through any other platform, service, or channel, without restriction and without owing Company any notice or compensation for doing so.
  3. Where a selected Submission contains Purely AI-Generated Content (as described in Section 4), no copyright exists in that material for Submitter to license; the License instead applies to (i) all rights Submitter holds in any AI-Assisted Content or other human-authored elements of the Submission, and (ii) any other rights, title, or interest Submitter may hold in the Purely AI-Generated Content elements (for example, contractual or database rights, if any) to the extent needed for Company to exercise the License. Submitter irrevocably waives, and agrees not to assert, any claim that Company’s exercise of the License infringes any ownership, authorship, or exclusivity interest Submitter may have in Purely AI-Generated Content elements. Nothing in this Agreement creates or implies copyright protection where none exists under applicable law.
  4. Submitter waives, to the extent permitted by applicable law, any moral rights in the selected Submission as against Company’s exercise of the License, and agrees not to assert any such rights against Company or its sublicensees in connection with the Platform.
  5. Submitter agrees to execute any further documents and take any further actions reasonably requested by Company to evidence or confirm the License.
  6. The License applies only to Submissions actually selected under this Section 6. Submitter retains all rights in any Submission that is not selected, subject to Section 5’s Review License, which terminates upon Company’s notice that a Submission was not selected.

7. Compensation

Company and Submitter will agree in writing on compensation for each selected Submission before it is published on the Platform. Depending on the Submission, this may take the form of a revenue-share or per-view royalty arrangement (for example, a rate per qualifying view as measured by Company’s view-tracking system), a flat license fee, or other consideration. Company will propose the applicable structure and rate for each Submission, subject to the parties’ written agreement under this Section 7.

8. Exclusivity During Review

For 60 days following submission, or until Company notifies Submitter that a Submission was not selected (if earlier), Submitter agrees not to grant any other party rights in the Submission that would conflict with the rights described in this Agreement.

9. Indemnification

Submitter agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Company, its officers, employees, and agents from and against any third-party claims, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of a breach of Submitter’s representations and warranties in Section 3.

10. Non-Selection; Return/Deletion

If a Submission is not selected, Company will delete or cease using any copies of the Submission retained under Section 5 within a reasonable time after notifying Submitter, except for a single archival copy Company may retain for recordkeeping and dispute-resolution purposes.

11. Term; Termination

This Agreement is effective as of the Effective Date and continues until the later of (a) completion of Review and, if applicable, publication of a selected Submission, or (b) resolution of any claim arising under this Agreement. Sections 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, and 12–14 survive any termination or expiration.

12. Governing Law; Disputes

This Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Texas, without regard to conflict-of-laws principles. Disputes will be resolved in the state or federal courts located in Texas.

13. Independent Contractor

Nothing in this Agreement creates an employment, partnership, or joint-venture relationship between Company and Submitter.

14. General

  1. Entire Agreement. This Agreement is the entire agreement between the parties regarding its subject matter and supersedes all prior discussions.
  2. Amendment. Company may update the general submission terms of this Agreement prospectively for future Submissions by posting an updated version; the terms in effect when a Submission is selected govern the License granted for that Submission.
  3. Severability. If any provision is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full effect.
  4. No Waiver. Failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver of that or any other provision.
  5. Assignment by Company. Company may assign this Agreement in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of substantially all its assets.
  6. Notices. Notices under this Agreement will be sent to the email addresses on file for each party.

By checking the agreement box and submitting content through Horizon’s website, Submitter acknowledges having read and agreed to this Agreement.