Pakistan's creative sector runs almost entirely on trust and WhatsApp. A production is agreed on a call, a brand deal is confirmed in a message thread, a song is recorded on the understanding that everyone will be fair about it later.

It works until something succeeds. Value is what turns an informal arrangement into a dispute, and by then the only question is who owns what — which nobody recorded.

Own your work, or license it deliberately

The starting point for every creative engagement is the same: who owns the copyright.

A creator is generally the first owner of copyright in what they make. Two things change that:

Employment. Work made by an employee in the course of employment generally belongs to the employer — and should be stated expressly in the contract.

Written assignment. A commissioner does not acquire copyright merely by paying the invoice. Without a written assignment, the client has at best a licence. See copyright in Pakistan.

For creators, the practical question is whether to assign or license. Assignment transfers ownership; a licence lets the client do what they need while you keep the work. Where the piece has ongoing value — a song, a format, a photograph — license rather than assign, and define:

  • Media — broadcast, streaming, print, out-of-home, social
  • Territory — Pakistan, or worldwide
  • Term — perpetual, or for a defined period
  • Exclusivity — and if exclusive, for how long and in what category
  • Modification — whether the work may be edited, cut or re-versioned

A brand paying for a single campaign does not need worldwide perpetual rights, and creators routinely give them away for nothing.

Credit and moral rights

Credit matters to a creative career more than most single fees, and it is almost never written down.

Specify the credit: the exact wording, its placement and prominence, and in which media it must appear. Where the work may be edited, consider whether you want the right to withdraw your credit if it is materially altered.

Payment terms that actually get paid

The sector's chronic problem.

  • Stage the payments — a booking or commencement fee, a milestone, and a final payment
  • Take a deposit. A client unwilling to commit anything at the outset is telling you something
  • Tie delivery of final files to final payment. Deliver watermarked or low-resolution material until you are paid — and make the licence conditional on payment
  • Charge for revisions beyond an agreed number, stated in the contract
  • Kill fee — what is payable if the project is cancelled after you have started
  • Expenses — who bears travel, equipment hire, location and crew

Where payment does not come, see recovering money owed in Pakistan and sending a legal notice.

Talent, production and music

Performers and presenters should look at exclusivity — whether you are barred from competing brands or channels, in what category, and for how long. An open-ended category exclusivity for a modest fee can cost far more than it pays.

Producers need chain of title: written agreements with every writer, performer, composer, crew member and location owner. A production that cannot demonstrate clean rights cannot be sold to a broadcaster or a platform, and this is the single most common reason Pakistani productions stall at distribution.

Music carries layered rights — the composition and the sound recording are separate — with publishing, synchronisation for use in film or advertising, and performance income each dealt with differently. Do not sign a single document purporting to transfer everything without understanding what is in it.

Influencer and brand deals

Now a significant part of the sector, and almost entirely undocumented.

Settle: deliverables and platforms, posting dates, how long the content must stay up, whether the brand may use it in paid advertising and for how long, exclusivity within the product category, approval and revision rounds, payment terms, and what happens if a post is removed by the platform.

Two further points.

Disclosure. Paid partnerships should be disclosed. Undisclosed advertising is a regulatory and reputational risk for both the creator and the brand.

Your own claims. A creator who makes claims about a product — health, efficacy, results — can be exposed alongside the brand. Do not read a script you have not checked.

Broadcast regulation

Content on licensed television and radio is regulated by PEMRA, with rules on content and advertising and a complaints and enforcement mechanism. Channels and producers making content for broadcast should know what the code requires before production, not after a notice.

Online distribution sits differently, but the electronic crimes framework and defamation law both apply. See defamation in Pakistan.

When your work is used without permission

Preserve the evidence — screenshots with URLs and dates, the broadcast or publication, and your own dated originals.

Then: platform takedown, a cease-and-desist, and where warranted infringement proceedings with an injunction. Act promptly; tolerating unauthorised use weakens your position.

How the firm can help

We draft and negotiate agreements across the sector — production, talent, music, publishing, agency, brand and influencer contracts — and advise on rights, licensing scope and chain of title for productions intended for broadcast or platform distribution.

We also act in the disputes: unpaid fees, unauthorised use, copyright infringement, contested ownership, defamation, and regulatory matters.

If you are being asked to sign something, contact the firm before you do. The rights you give away in a one-page agreement are difficult to get back.