Law Offices of Daniel N. Steven, LLC
Collaboration Agreements
A collaboration agreement is a contract between the authors of a joint work setting forth respective ownership, rights, credits, royalties, expenses, and responsibilities. If you are collaborating with someone on any significant work – a short story or a novel – you should have a collaboration agreement. Let’s look at the key issues: Ownership of Rights. By default under copyright law, all...
Read MoreQ&A: Using Co-Author’s Characters
Q. I wrote a novel with a co-author. Now my co-author wants to write another novel (without me!) using the characters from our joint novel. Can she do this without my permission? A. Presumably you and your co-author didn’t have a collaboration agreement (or that agreement didn’t cover the issue of derivative works). Unfortunately, joint authorship without such an agreement can cause major...
Read MoreOut of Print Clauses in Publishing Agreements
Your grant or assignment of copyright to your publisher generally is limited only by the out of print clause. It therefore is critical that “out of print” be defined reasonably, especially now that digital and on-demand publishing can make the literal meaning of the clause obsolete. Ideally, the definition should be pegged to the publisher’s marketing efforts, not just to the book’s...
Read MoreQ&A: E-book Rights
Q. How do I get e-book rights for my out of print books published before the days of e-books? A. As always, the answer exists in your publishing agreement. You must closely examine two sections: your “grant of rights” to the publisher and your “out of print” clause. There are four possible scenarios: 1. Your book is out of print, and you have received a reversion of all rights from the...
Read MoreQuick Contract Guide
Q. What rights should I grant my publisher? The standard book publishing agreement “Grant of Rights” clause commonly takes all “print” rights plus certain specified “subsidiary” rights – foreign, translation, book club, electronic, film & television, audio, dramatic, and periodical. Don’t skim over these clauses – they are the most important elements of your publishing agreement. Examine...
Read MoreQ&A: Copyright In Old Novel
Q. I have discovered an old novel I would like to rewrite, using the characters and the plot. Is this legal? A. Not if the novel still is under copyright; if so, your rewrite would be an infringement. The question then becomes how “old,” because if the book is NOT under copyright, it is in the public domain. Let’s examine the duration of copyright in the United States – a complex subject...
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