• Ad Age, Thursday, February 4, 2010 10:41 AM

The American Association of Advertising Agencies has asked 30 major industry search consultants to insure that its member's intellectual property rights are preserved during the new-business-pitch process, Rupal Parekh reports.

A letter, which is endorsed by nearly 50 agencies, asks for a stipulation in search agreements that "specifies the rights to intellectual property created by agencies during the review process remain the property of the agency until the marketer either hires the agency to execute the work or the parties agree to a commercially equitable payment for the assignment of usage rights."

The issue, of course, is hoary but the 4A's says it has taken on new urgency. "Since Labor Day, the level of review activity has picked up noticeably, and more and more reviews are requesting some form of speculative thinking or work," says Tom Finneran, 4A's evp-agency management services.

One commenter to Parekh's story questions whether the letter should have been sent to the Association of National Advertisers rather than search consultants. "This is an issue between clients and agencies...," he writes, "and that is where it can be best dealt with."

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