A talent agency agreement defines the relationship between a representation agency and an actor, musician, athlete or other creative professional: the agency performs one or more mandated acts in the talent's name and at the talent's expense. In Georgia this field is not governed by a separate statute — the special talent-agency legislation known in other jurisdictions, such as the California model, does not operate here. The relationship is therefore governed, in substance, by the mandate-contract provisions of the Georgian Civil Code — primarily articles 709, 710, 711 and 720.
The Mandate Contract in the Talent Context
Under article 709 of the Civil Code, under a mandate contract the mandatary is obliged to perform one or several legal acts entrusted to it by the mandator, in the mandator's name and at the mandator's expense. In the talent context the mandatary is the agency and the mandator is the performer or athlete. Because the agent acts in the talent's name and for the talent's benefit, the rights and obligations created by the deals the agent concludes belong directly to the talent: the talent receives the fees and bears the responsibility.