Collaboration agreement

How to use this template

Fill this in together, in one sitting. Fill every empty cell and every short [bracket]; where a clause offers two options, keep one and delete the other. Delete the clauses marked optional that you don't need.

Spend most of the time on sections 4, 5 and 7: ownership, money and what happens if one of you leaves. They are the parts collaborators skip and later argue about, and they are easiest to agree on now.

In 4.1, joint ownership suits a work you can't pull apart, such as a co-written book. Separate ownership suits work with clear parts, such as text and illustrations, so each of you can reuse your own.

More than two collaborators? Add a column to the parties and signature tables, a row to the table in 2.1, and change the splits in 5.1.

Delete this box, the example and the checklist at the end before you sign.

This is a template, not legal advice. Laws differ by country and state; for large sums or valuable rights, have a lawyer where you live review it before anyone signs.

This agreement is made on [date] between the collaborators named below, who agree to make the project in section 1 together on these terms.

	Collaborator A	Collaborator B
Full legal name
Email
City and country

1. The project

We are making the following together:

What it is
Working title
How it will be released
Target date

See an example

What it is: a nonfiction book of about 80,000 words on the history of city gardens
Working title: Common Ground
How it will be released: through a traditional publisher, found by an agent
Target date: manuscript finished by spring 2027

Credit line (3.1): by Maya Okafor and Daniel Reyes

2. Who does what

2.1 Contributions. Each of us contributes and delivers the following:

Collaborator	Contributes	Delivers	By
A
B
Both

2.2 Our own costs. Each of us pays for our own tools and equipment unless 5.1 lists the cost as shared.

2.3 Missed dates. If either of us expects to miss a date, we say so in writing as soon as we know and agree on a new one.

3. Credit

3.1 Credit line. The work is credited as [credit line].

Such as “by A and B”, “A with B” or “written by A, illustrated by B”.

3.2 Name order. [Name] first, then [name], on the cover, title page, episode notes, store listings, metadata and press materials.

3.3 Shared name (optional). Our pen name, show name or series name, [name], belongs to [both of us / name]. Neither of us uses it for other work without the other's written consent.

3.4 Our own roles. Each of us may describe our own role in the project in bios, portfolios and interviews.

4. Ownership and rights

4.1 The finished work. Keep one option and delete the other.

Option 1, joint ownership. The finished work is owned by both of us: A [50]%, B [50]%. Neither of us grants any license, exclusive or not, or sells or transfers any rights in it, without the other's written consent.
Option 2, separate ownership. Each of us keeps the copyright in our own contribution, such as text, illustrations, music or audio. Each of us grants the other a non-exclusive license to use that contribution in the work, its editions, translations and adaptations for [the full term of copyright].

4.2 Material we bring in. Anything either of us made before this agreement stays theirs, and may be used in the project on the terms in 4.1. It includes:

4.3 Accounts and assets. The project's domain, feed, channel, social accounts, mailing list, ISBNs and publishing accounts are registered to [name] and belong to [both of us / name]. Both of us have login access.

4.4 Spin-offs. Sequels, new editions, translations, adaptations and merchandise need both of our written consent, and use the splits in 5.1 unless we agree otherwise in writing.

5. Money

5.1 Splits. Income and shared costs are divided as follows:

Income or cost	Split (A / B)	Notes
Advance and royalties
Sales, ads, sponsorships, subscriptions
Grants, prizes, speaking fees
Shared costs

5.2 Who collects. Keep one option and delete the other.

Option 1, one of us collects. [Name] receives project income into [account] and pays each collaborator their share within [30] days, with a statement listing every amount received and paid.
Option 2, paid directly. We ask the publisher, agent or platform to pay each of us our share directly.

5.3 Records. Either of us may see the project's financial records at any time.

5.4 Taxes. Each of us is responsible for the taxes on our own share.

6. Decisions

6.1 Creative decisions. Both of us must agree on creative decisions, except that [name] has the final say on [part of the work]. Delete the exception if every decision is shared.

6.2 Business decisions. Both of us must agree in writing before either of us signs with a publisher, agent, sponsor or platform, sets prices, spends more than [amount] on a single shared cost, or changes the credit line.

6.3 If we can't agree. If we cannot agree within [14] days, we ask [name], whom we both trust, or a mediator, to help us decide. Nothing is signed with anyone else until we agree.

7. If one of us leaves

7.1 Notice. Either of us may leave the project by giving [30] days' notice in writing.

7.2 Work already done. Keep one option and delete the other.

Option 1, the work stays. The project may keep using the leaving collaborator's finished contributions, with credit.
Option 2, the work goes. The leaving collaborator takes back their contributions, and the project may not use them.

7.3 Money after leaving. The leaving collaborator keeps such as their full share of income from anything released before they left.

7.4 If the project stalls. If nothing is published or released by [date], each of us takes back our own contributions and we settle shared costs [50 / 50].

7.5 Death or incapacity. A collaborator's share of income and rights passes to their estate. The other collaborator [may / may not] finish and release the work without the estate's agreement.

8. General terms

8.1 Confidentiality. Until release, neither of us shares drafts or plans outside the project, except with agents, editors, beta readers and advisers we both approve.

8.2 Disputes. We try to settle any disagreement by talking first, then through mediation with [mediator or service], before going to court.

8.3 Governing law. This agreement is governed by the laws of [state or country].

8.4 Independence. Neither of us is the other's employee or agent, and neither of us may sign a contract or take on a debt in the other's name.

8.5 Changes. Any change to this agreement is made in writing and signed by every collaborator.

8.6 If a part fails. If one part of this agreement turns out to be unenforceable, the rest still applies.

8.7 Whole agreement. This is our whole agreement about the project. It replaces anything we agreed before, spoken or written. We may sign it electronically, and each signed copy counts as an original.

Signatures

	Collaborator A	Collaborator B
Signature
Name
Date

Before you sign

Every empty cell and bracket is filled in, the grey notes deleted and the blue colour removed
One option is kept in 4.1, 5.2 and 7.2, and the other deleted
Every line in the table in 5.1 adds up to 100%
The dates in 2.1 and 7.4 are real calendar dates you both agreed on
You have both read the whole agreement, and each of you keeps a signed copy