We wish everyone a prosperous and happy New Year.

This seems like a terrific opportunity to remind BayNewsVideo's loyal customers of our longtime policies regarding billing, late fees and the all-important copyright issue.

In regards to billing for local news footage, BayNewsVideo does not deliver tape "on spec." We're professionals with years of experience.

As such, our policy has always been that we take great care to accurately describe the footage in question in advance with a station official, such as an assignment editor.

If, following this description, the station official requests we deliver the news footage in question, once delivered, it constitutes a sale. That means, once the tape is delivered, (or ingested and copied onto a hard drive if the system is nonlinear), it is "sold" and will be invoiced accordingly.

Sales are invoiced on the 15th of each month. We'd like to take this opportunity to thank everyone associated with this process very much for their prompt attention to our efforts. We do, however, find it necessary from time to time to assess the occasional 2 percent late fee on unpaid balances past 60 days.

Most important is our policy in regards to copyright for the use of local news footage. Unless it is a specificially requested assignment, such footage supplied to local affiliates, independents and/or web sites, provides a license for local use only of the footage in question. (Some companies only allow licenses for a limited time, however, at this point, BayNewsVideo grants unlimited local use for payment of a single fee).

As has been longstanding accepted local practice, copyright of the original work remains vested with the originator -- in this case, BayNewsVideo. Any other reuse, resale, or retransmission for other purposes is, as we all know, a violation of federal copyright law. As it's our livelihood at stake, we're not shy about asserting our legal rights in this regard.

BayNewsVideo personnel have invested considerable time and expense in keeping up with the latest trends via attendance of annual workshops such as those provided by the National Press Photographers Association and memberships in such organizations as the Society of Professional Journalists and the San Diego Press Club. We plan to continue to do so in the years to come. We are constantly seeking ways to improve our performance and appreciate the confidence reposed in our work.

We aim to make it even better in 2009.

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