A morals clause requires that a party to a contract to adhere to certain moral or behavioral requirements. These clauses are common in entertainment contracts and content creator contracts. When an entertainer, athlete, or influencer contracts with a brand or company, they are essentially allowing the brand or company to profit off of their name, image, and likeness. A morals clause states specific behaviors that constitute a breach of the contract and give a party an opportunity to terminnate the contract. Behaviors generally include illegal activities and scandals, but can be more narrow and specific as well. Some morals clauses will also offer damages to the non-offending party if the behavior negatively affects their reputation or brand image.
How do morals clauses affect influencers?
When brands and companies hire content creators or influencers to represent them, they want to ensure that the individual’s actions align with their values or the image they want to portray. Brands will want to avoid working with influencers with a scandalous reputation, but also may specify in a morals clause the kind of posts that constitute a breach, use of music, or other actions related to the influencer’s business. Morals clauses have become more popular with the prevalence of cancel culture. Brands want to be able to quickly and easily end a relationship with influencers who are canceled to save their reputation.
Influencers can negotiate in some situations for a time period to cure their breach of a morals clause, or for certain restrictions on information that is publicized following the end of the brand’s relationship with the influencer. Moral clauses can be especially dangerous to influencers when they are written broadly, without definitions. For example, an influencer and brand could have a different definition of “bad publicity” than the brand which causes disputes when terminating the contract.
What is a reverse morals clause?
A reverse morals clause allows an influencer to end their relationship with a brand if the brand starts to receive bad press. Immoral behavior for a brand could involve scandals, lawsuits, or bad press due to advertisements or communications from the brand. Brand scandals can be damaging to influencers who have aligned their lives and values with a brand. These clauses can even come into play when information about a brand comes out that does not align with the values of the influencer. Values and sincerity in influencer endorsements have become particularly important due to the release of the FTC’s Endorsement Guidelines, which specified that influencers cannot make false claims about brands to their followers.
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