Q&A: Exclusive Agency Agreement

Posted by Dan Steven on Jun 23, 2011

Q. I have an “exclusive” agreement with my agent.  What does this mean? A.  Typically in an agency agreement, the author makes the agent his “sole and exclusive representative” or grants an “exclusive agency.”  This terminology often is misunderstood by agents and authors (and even some so-called publishing attorneys whose web sites I have visited!).  Why is this important? Suppose this...

First Publishing Deal

Posted by Dan Steven on May 27, 2011

It’s arrived –your first traditional (not an e-book!) publishing contract: ten pages of single-spaced Times Roman.  All the work, the revisions, the seemingly endless waiting for replies from publishers has finally paid off.  And you’re grateful, right? Of course you are.  Especially because your editor told you it’s a “standard” contract.  “Just sign and send it back,” she said, and you...

Q&A: Foreign Rights

Posted by Dan Steven on May 23, 2011

Q.  I’m self-publishing my out-of-print novel, in both digital and print.  Please tell me about “foreign rights” and “foreign licensing deals.” A. Foreign rights are typically part of the “subsidiary rights” of your copyright, and can take different forms (also called “translation rights”).  Foreign rights, as a whole, are the granting, (or “licensing”) of your copyright to a publisher to do...

Update On The Google Book Search Lawsuit

Posted by Dan Steven on Apr 20, 2011

In a version of Dickens’ Jarndyce vs. Jarndyce, we now are approaching the seventh year of the copyright infringement lawsuit againstGoogle because of its unauthorized digitizing of copyrighted works.  (I addressed this topic in a previous post.) Briefly, in 2005 the Author’s Guild and other plaintiffs filed a class action lawsuit against Google for its “Book Search,” alleging that Google...

Q&A: Trademarks in Titles

Posted by Dan Steven on Mar 17, 2011

Q.   May I use a trademarked word as the title of my novel?  Also, I’ve heard that it isn’t legal to use trademarks in a book, yet I see them being used all the time.  Can you explain?  A.  Let’s begin by defining terms. A trademark is a word, phrase, symbol or design, or a combination of words, phrases, symbols or designs, that identifies and distinguishes the source of the goods of one party...

Q&A: Firing Your Agent

Posted by Dan Steven on Feb 18, 2011

Q.   My agent hasn’t sold my novel, hasn’t made specific submissions I have requested, and has otherwise failed to represent me adequately.   I have completed a second novel and wish to get a new agent, but my current agency agreement has a term of one year, with five months left.  Can I terminate the agreement right now?  A. Whether you can terminate any agreement before its term depends on the...