Blogger Agreement

THIS AGREEMENT is made by and between Washington University in St. Louis (“University”) and the above named on this Agreement (“Blog Writer”) on the date listed on this Agreement.

Blog Writer agrees to submit written articles, with a minimum of 300 words and a maximum of 1,250 words, on the following subject(s) Medical and cancer research (the “Articles”) for publication in University’s The Common Reader blog under Blog Writer’s byline. Blog Writer will submit at least one Article every month following the execution of this Agreement until such time as this Agreement is terminated. Each such Article shall be submitted by email as a PDF attachment, with the text copied and pasted in the body of the email.

University agrees to pay Blog Writer $25 for each Article submitted and published that does not exceed 1,000 words. For any published Article that exceeds 1,000 words, University will pay Blog Writer $35. University has the sole and exclusive authority to determine whether or not to publish any or all Articles submitted by Blog Writer.

Blog Writer grants, assigns, and transfers to University the full and exclusive right to: publish, reproduce, publicly distribute, transmit and display, and otherwise use the Articles worldwide, including all revisions thereof, in The Common Reader, in all media now known or later developed; license publication of the Articles to others to include in any print or digital media; and register and hold the copyright to the Articles in University’s name as University, in its sole discretion, considers necessary and appropriate. Notwithstanding the foregoing, University grants Blog Writer a perpetual, royalty-free, non-exclusive license to publish any Article elsewhere after a period of three (3) months subsequent to the publication of the Article in The Common Reader, subject to proper acknowledgment of the Article’s initial publication in The Common Reader; provided, however, that Blog Writer will not authorize the publication of the Article in a publication that competes with The Common Reader without the written permission of University. In addition, University grants Blog Writer a perpetual, royalty-free, non-exclusive license to use any published Article in any form or format in connection with Blog Writer’s teaching, conference presentations, lectures, and for all of Blog Writer’s academic and professional activities, and the right to make Blog Writer’s Articles available in digital form over the Internet, on Blog Writer’s personal website, or through websites maintained by scholarly societies or Blog Writer’s employer.

Blog Writer warrants that Blog Writer is vested with sole ownership and with the power to convey all rights that are granted and assigned in this Agreement; the copyright has not previously been assigned nor the Articles published elsewhere; the Articles do not infringe any valid copyright or other proprietary right of any other person; the Articles contain no libelous, defamatory or other unlawful material, nor do they violate any proprietary rights nor invade the privacy rights or infringe the publicity rights of any third party; and if the Articles include any copyrighted material not in the public domain, Blog Writer will obtain the reprint permissions and provide them to University on or about the time the Articles are delivered to University.

University is authorized to edit the Articles for style, usage, and felicity; provided, however, that University shall not be free to make substantive changes in the Articles without the express approval of Blog Writer. University reserves the right to require a rewrite to be completed within seven (7) days unless specified otherwise. If University determines that any Article is not suitable for publication, University will pay Blog Writer an amount equal to 15% of the aforementioned fee. In this event, Blog Writer retains all rights to the Article.

Blog Writer agrees to hold University, its employees and agents harmless from any claim, suit or proceeding based on the grounds that the Articles infringe any valid copyright or other proprietary right of any other person; contain libelous, defamatory or other unlawful material; invade the privacy rights or infringe the publicity rights of any other person; and agrees to indemnify University, its employees and agents for reasonable expenses incurred in defending, settling, or otherwise responding to such claims.

The parties expressly agree and acknowledge that the relationship created by this Agreement is one of independent contractor. University is not the employer of Blog Writer, and Blog Writer is not and will not be treated as an employee of the University for federal tax purposes, or any other purposes.

This Agreement will begin on the date the Agreement is executed by both or the latter of the two parties as set forth below and shall continue until terminated as provided by either party. If either party violates a term of this Agreement, then the other party may terminate this Agreement immediately upon delivery of written notice of termination. Notwithstanding the foregoing, either party may terminate this Agreement at any time for any or no reason, effective upon thirty (30) days written notice.

This Agreement constitutes the entire understanding between the parties, and may be amended at any time only in a writing signed by both parties. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed under the laws of the State of Missouri, which shall be the forum for any lawsuits arising from or incident to this Agreement.