Option agreement for the film rights to a book

When a book is adapted for the screen, the option comes first, before there is a script, a director or a funder. With an option agreement, a producer or streamer acquires the exclusive right, for an agreed period, to buy the film rights to a book; if the producer does not exercise the option within that period, the rights stay with the author or the publisher. If the producer does exercise it, the purchase or exclusive licence that follows has had to be in writing since 1 January 2026 (Article 2(3) of the Dutch Copyright Act, in Dutch).

A producer needs the rights before funders, a broadcaster or a streamer come on board. For the author and the publisher there is more at stake than the price. The length of the option counts too, as do the rights that go with it and the say in the script.

Are you negotiating the film rights to a book as an author, publisher or producer? Call 020 675 88 21 or send a message using the form at the bottom of this page.

The option on a book and the purchase of the film rights

If a producer wants to adapt a novel, a children’s book or a non-fiction title, permission is needed from whoever holds the copyright in the book. Under the Dutch Copyright Act a film adaptation counts as a reproduction of the book (Article 13, in Dutch). The writer does not drop out of the picture after the premiere. The film acquires a copyright of its own, but the copyright in the book continues alongside it (Article 10(2)), so a series or remake has to go back to the writer if the contract did not already include those rights.

With an option, the producer reserves the book without buying the rights yet. During the option period the producer can have a script written, look for funding and approach a broadcaster or streamer, without anyone else adapting the book in the meantime. Exercising the option is followed by the purchase of the film rights or an exclusive licence. If the period runs out without the producer doing anything, the author can offer the book to someone else.

For the author, an option is more than a statement of intent. Under Dutch law an option counts as an irrevocable offer: whoever commits in this way must conclude the agreement if the other party wants it (Article 6:219(3) of the Dutch Civil Code, in Dutch). If the producer exercises the option, the purchase or licence comes into being on the terms set out in the option. If those terms have not yet been agreed, the negotiation only starts at the moment the producer needs the rights.

In 2010 the Amsterdam Court of Appeal was shown a draft that illustrates how this plays out. It concerned an option on the novel Joe Speedboot: 24 months of exclusivity for €5,000 on signature. The parties were to set out the terms of the licence itself in a separate agreement within three months. If that failed, the licence was deemed not to have been granted (Amsterdam Court of Appeal 12 January 2010, ECLI:NL:GHAMS:2010:BL0136, in Dutch). With an option like that, the producer did not yet know, when work on the script began, on what terms the film could be made.

With the director, the screenwriter and the other authors of the film, the law gives the producer a head start. Unless something else has been agreed in writing, they are presumed to transfer their rights to the producer (Article 45d of the Dutch Copyright Act, in Dutch). That does not work for the writer. The book existed before anyone thought of the film and is therefore not a contribution to the film. For the book, the producer only has the rights set out in the contract with the author or the publisher. Our article explains who the authors of a film are.

What an option agreement for a book should contain

During the option period the producer has the book exclusively. The author and the publisher do not grant the film rights to anyone else in that time. An option agreement for a book also records seven arrangements that determine what happens when the option is exercised:

• The option period and any extension. The option runs for an agreed number of months, with or without a paid extension. In the 2010 draft it was 24 months.
• The option fee. The contract states the amount for the option itself and whether it is deducted from the purchase price on exercise.
• The purchase price or the fee on exercise. The contract states the amount or the calculation and when payment is due. A percentage of the production budget is only known once the funding is in place, so record a minimum amount as well. The law requires the remuneration to be equitable (Article 25c of the Dutch Copyright Act, in Dutch).
• The rights the producer acquires on exercise. The contract names the forms (film, series, sequel, remake), the territory and the term.
• The author’s say and credit. Arrangements on seeing the script, co-writing and the credit in the titles belong in it.
• Who signs. The author signs personally or the publisher signs with the author’s written consent.
• The reversion of the rights. The contract sets out what happens to the film rights if the film is not made after the option has been exercised.

If any of these points is missing, it still has to be negotiated on exercise. That is exactly the moment when the producer needs the rights most and the author has the most room to say no.

Which rights the buyer of a book’s film rights wants

A producer or streamer can ask for more than the rights for a single film. Think of a series, sequels and remakes, use of the title and the characters, and merchandising. Territory matters too. The rights can be worldwide or divided by country or language area.

For the buyer, completeness is the point. An assignment or exclusive licence by the author only covers what the contract expressly states or what necessarily follows from its nature and purpose (Article 2(3) of the Dutch Copyright Act). A series that is not mentioned anywhere is therefore not automatically included. A funder or streamer will look at this as part of the chain of title.

The author looks mainly at the sequels. If the rights to sequels are included, the deal also covers books that have yet to be written. The author can have a clause set aside that ties up the exploitation of future works for an unreasonably long or insufficiently defined period (Article 25f(1), in Dutch).

For all the rights together, the remuneration must be equitable. If it falls far behind what the film earns, the author can claim additional remuneration (Article 25d, in Dutch). That is the bestseller provision.

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When the publisher sells the film rights on the author’s behalf

If a book is published by a publisher, that publisher sometimes also manages the film rights. So look at the publishing contract first. In the model contract of the Dutch authors’ association (Auteursbond) and the literary publishers (June 2021), adaptation for film and television falls within the publisher’s licence, but only if the author gives written consent before the right is exercised (Article 1(6)). According to the notes, the publisher informs the author in advance where possible about the arrangements with a producer, and the author may inspect them. The notes divide what the publisher receives for exploitation by a third party: 60 per cent for the author and 40 per cent for the publisher. The parties may not depart from that to the author’s disadvantage.

This is where the producer runs a risk. In the Joe Speedboot case, De Bezige Bij had told the producer by fax that it was granting an option on the film rights “on behalf of” the writer and that the details would be worked out in an option agreement. The publisher and the producer signed the draft of that agreement, the writer did not. In the court’s view there was no option. The parties still intended to work out the arrangements, and the fax had been drawn up so that the producer could apply for a subsidy from what was then the Netherlands Film Fund (para. 2.6). On top of that, the draft assumed the writer would sign personally, and the writer was also in direct contact with the producer (paras. 2.5 and 2.7).

If you are a producer dealing with a publisher, ask to see the publishing contract and the author’s written consent, or have the author co-sign. The same applies to the publisher from the other side. The consent should be in place before a producer uses a letter from the publisher to apply for funding.

If a producer wants to adapt the book and the publisher sits on its hands without good reason, the author can end that subsidiary right in writing under the model contract, with three months’ notice (Article 1(9)). The author first states the reasons, and consultation with the publisher follows.

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The writer’s say in the script and the credits

The law covers only a small part of what the author has to say about the film. The author can always object to a distortion or other impairment of the book that could harm the author’s honour or reputation (Article 25 of the Dutch Copyright Act, in Dutch). The author can waive the right to block other changes. If a producer wants to shorten the story, move it to another country or merge characters, record that in the contract.

Any further say is a matter of agreement. Options include seeing the script, an advisory role, co-writing the dialogue or approving the final cut. In the Joe Speedboot case, the publisher’s fax already mentioned the writer’s involvement in the dialogue. After reading the first part of the script, the writer withdrew (para. 2.2). So also agree what happens if author and producer cannot agree on the script.

If the author co-writes the script, the author can also become one of the authors of the film (Article 45a, in Dutch). The rules for film authors then apply to that contribution, with equitable remuneration agreed in writing.

Record the credit with its position and wording, such as “based on the book by” in the end credits. Also agree whether the name appears on the poster and in the trailer. Even without an agreement, the author can object to the work being made public without the author’s name, unless that objection would be unreasonable.

What happens to the rights if the film is never made

After an option lapses, there is nothing for the author to get back. The producer never bought the rights. After the purchase or licence it is different, because the rights then sit with the producer, even if not a single day of shooting ever takes place.

A reversion clause in the contract deals with this. If production does not start within an agreed period, the film rights go back to the author or the publisher, with or without repayment of part of the purchase price.

Without such a clause, the law gives the author a way out. The author can terminate the contract if the buyer does not exploit the right sufficiently within a reasonable time (Article 25e of the Dutch Copyright Act, in Dutch). The buyer first gets a reasonable period in writing to do so after all. If the buyer has since assigned the copyright to someone else, the author can also invoke the termination against that party. The law sets no period. According to the notes to the model contract, a reasonable period for a film adaptation is different from one for an audiobook. A fixed period in the contract avoids that discussion.

Adapting a picture book or comic and the illustrator’s rights

When an animated film is made from a picture book or comic, it is not just about the story. The characters get their look from the illustrator and the producer wants to use that look in the film. The Dutch Copyright Act lists writings and drawings as separate works (Article 10(1)). If the text and the drawings are by two different people, the producer needs permission from both.

Submarine made the animated film Fox and Hare Save the Forest (2024) based on the book Vos en Haas en de Bosbaas by Sylvia Vanden Heede, illustrated by Thé Tjong-Khing. In the interview with founder Bruno Felix he explains that a production sometimes starts with an option on a book.

The same rules apply to the illustrator as to the writer. The illustrator is entitled to equitable remuneration, to a credit and to object to an impairment that harms their honour or reputation, even if the publisher sells the film rights to the book as a whole. If the animation studio wants to redesign the characters for movement and screen, also agree how far that adaptation may go.

Lawyer for the film rights to a book

Liaise has worked for film producers for more than 35 years and also for writers and the publishers that bring out their work. We draft or review the option and the purchase of film rights, for the party selling and the party buying. When a producer makes an offer, we set out for the author or publisher what is missing and which points are still open to negotiation. We help a producer get the rights to the book in order before funders or a streamer ask about them.

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Is there an option on the table, or do you want to adapt a book? Call 020 675 88 21 or send a message using the form below.