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Mary Rosenblum
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hello all.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Welcome to our Friday After
Hours Forum.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I gather, from the rather
crowded auditorium out there that 'rights' is a topic of interest.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Good!
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Mary Rosenblum
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Very few novice writers
understand what they own and how to offer it and protect it.
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Mary Rosenblum
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And that lack of knowlege can
bite you in the butt, bigtime.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Essentially, you own your
copyright from the moment you hit a typewriter key, save your work to disk,
or write it on a page with a pencil.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Unless you sell your transfer
your copyright, nobody can use those words without your permission.
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Mary Rosenblum
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As writers, we grant
publishers permission to use our words...for pay.
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Mary Rosenblum
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But you do NOT want to sell
those words.
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Mary Rosenblum
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You only want to sell
permission to publish them as a book, once, or as a story, once, or to put
them up on a website for a limited time.
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Mary Rosenblum
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You still own those words and
once that publisher has exercised that permission...published your story on
the web or in a magazine, published your book....
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Mary Rosenblum
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you need to be able to resell
those words.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Well, let me rephrase that...
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Mary Rosenblum
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to resell permission to use
those words.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Some of my stories have been
published in five or six magazines or anthologies.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Some articles re republished
in several magazines, websites, or even textbooks.
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sailor
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Lesson: Remember the I Love Lucy
show? Lucy & Desi bought the early episodes for next to nothing from
CBS because CBS thought, who would ever want to watch the same show again?
Lucy & Desi made tons off those reruns.
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Mary Rosenblum
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There are many lessons out
there. :-)
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Mary Rosenblum
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Ken Kesey sold the movie
rights to Sometimes a Great Notion to the publisher and when it was made
into a movie and became a blockbuster he got nothing.
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Mary Rosenblum
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The publisher got it.
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kolanda
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mary, I read somewhere that
editors know you are a novice writer if you use the copyright symbol and
that can cause them not to read your ms
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Mary Rosenblum
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Sharon, you have to understand that an editor is always
looking for new talent. And they don't care if a really good story is
written by a pro or a newbie.
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Mary Rosenblum
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BUT...if your presentation
says 'amateur' and the first paragraph says 'amateur' guess how much
farther that editor will read?
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Mary Rosenblum
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If the presentation says
'amateur' and the first paragraph blows her away, that editor could care
less if you never wrote a word before this story.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Editors read a LOT of slush. Think
'three strikes against you'.
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sailor
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I know if a contract asks for
more rights than I want to sell, I can negotiate. But I never submit to a
market with guidelines that say they want all rights. I assume they will
not negotiate. Do you think that's true?
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Mary Rosenblum
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That depends, sailor. Some new
ezines are started by people who have NO clue about writers. They're
amateur editors.
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Mary Rosenblum
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And they're trying to make
things simple so that they don't make a mistake and run into legal trouble.
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Mary Rosenblum
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They may be willing to
negotiate.
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Mary Rosenblum
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If you're writing something
you don't ever plan to use anywhere again and you want to do all rights,
why not?
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Mary Rosenblum
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I do work for hire from time
to time. (The Long Ridge novel course was a work for hire project).
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Mary Rosenblum
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That's fine. I do the work, I
get paid, they're not my words anymore.
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Mary Rosenblum
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But if it's a story or
something that could sell in other markets, don't sell all rights.
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quixote
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I don't think the question was
answered: is it wise to ose the © copyright symbol in the manuscript?
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Mary Rosenblum
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It says you are an amateur, quixote.
It only has legal meaning if you have registerred the material with the US
Copyright Office.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Otherwise you're using it
incorrectly and it means nothing.
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barbiq
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I have seen alot of people ask
about applying for a formal coypwrite from the gov't. Is that wise? or just
a waste of money and time?
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Mary Rosenblum
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If you think that at some
point this work will be legally challenged, it is a good idea to register
the copyright.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I don't do it for my fiction.
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Mary Rosenblum
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If I was writing something controversial
that was likely to gain a lot of national or international attention or
arouse a lot of emotion, I probably would.
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rslnwife
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Do you mean challenged as your
actual words or something else?
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Mary Rosenblum
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Challenged as in someone tries
to copy your work, or claims that they wrote and you didnt.
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Mary Rosenblum
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That sort of challenge.
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Mary Rosenblum
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It's what prevents other
authors from writing Sherlock Holmes stories without getting permission from
the heirs.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I don't need to register my
copyright to prove it, if I have documentary proof of when I wrote the
work.
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Mary Rosenblum
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And I do.
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kolanda
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wasn't there a big challenge
like that with the Divinci Code or one of the big books?
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Mary Rosenblum
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Thanks, Kolanda. I was going
to bring that up. :-)
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Mary Rosenblum
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The DaVinci code was
challenged by someone who wrote a nonfiction book about that same idea.
Yeah, the author probably read that book. BUT....you cannot copyright
ideas.
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Mary Rosenblum
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He did not use words from the
book. The judge threw out the case. It was clearly a matter of the accusers
hoping for a quick cash settlement from the publisher.
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Mary Rosenblum
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It was a 'nuisance' case.
Stephen King and other top selling writers get those all the time.
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Mary Rosenblum
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This is the actual wording:
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Mary Rosenblum
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For works created after January 1, 1978, copyright
protection will endure for the life of the author plus an additional 70
years. In the case of a joint work, the term lasts for 70 years after the
last surviving author¹s death. For anonymous and pseudonymous works and
works made for hire, the term will be 95 years from the year of first
publication or 120 years from the year of creation, whichever expires
first;
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Mary Rosenblum
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Your heirs can reregister the
copyright if they choose. :-)
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Mary Rosenblum
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Doyle's heirs have done so.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Keep Sherlock out of your
fiction!
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barbiq
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When should a writer be
concerned about being legally challenged? Should we worry over every word
we write?
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Mary Rosenblum
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You shouldn't. That's my
point.
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Mary Rosenblum
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It CAN happen.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Marion Zimmer Bradley lost a
novel when a fan claimed that she had stolen the story from a manuscript
she had given to Bradley to critque, and sued the publisher.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Does that happen often?
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Mary Rosenblum
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That's the only case I
actually know of.
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Mary Rosenblum
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And there was a big personal
problem between the women to begin with.
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tigger
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When you write a blog online, do
you lose your rights to them? Do they go into the public domain?
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Mary Rosenblum
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No, you NEVER lose your rights
by publishing.
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Mary Rosenblum
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You ONLY lose your rights by
signing them away in a contract.
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Mary Rosenblum
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You ARE publishing your words
on a blog. They are copyrighted.
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Mary Rosenblum
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IF someone quotes you, you can
ask them to remove those words from their webpage or whereever. Technically
they are violating your copyright.
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Mary Rosenblum
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As are YOU if you copy an
image from google and post it on your website.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Now you're not going to sue
people because they are protected by 'fair use' laws.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I can post that picture on my blog
and I'm not doing for profit, not selling that image. So I can use it.
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Mary Rosenblum
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If I use those images in a
book I'm selling, I had darn well better get permission from the
photographer.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I had to submit a written
release from a friend who took the author's photo for one of my books.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Otherwise my publisher couldnt'
use it.
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Mary Rosenblum
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So, quixote, you are covered.
Your use of the don's name is fair use.
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kolanda
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I recently referred to
"Nancy Drew" books in a short story, but it was only in dialogue
and I didn't quote anything is that acceptable?
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Mary Rosenblum
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Titles aren't copyrightable,
neither are references to books, unless you libel the author somehow.
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Mary Rosenblum
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If you include chapters of
Nancy Drew in your book...that's another matter.
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tory
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I see many writers post a few
pages of a WIP on their wegbsite or blog. does this compromise their
copyright for the entire book? Must they tell pubs. it is there? (Though
I'd think pubs would like the help with marketing!)
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Mary Rosenblum
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No.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Publishers are usually happy
to have you post chunks of your book on your website.
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Mary Rosenblum
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If you post the entire book up
there, it's published.
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jitterbug
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What kind of documentation do u
need to do to cover yourself
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Mary Rosenblum
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Proof that you wrote the book
at a certain time. Is it saved on your harddrive?
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Mary Rosenblum
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That's dated.
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mmmmmm6
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What about writing you may post
on a website or blog?
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Mary Rosenblum
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That is your copyright.
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Mary Rosenblum
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And it's also published.
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Mary Rosenblum
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But that only means you can't
offer 'first rights' to a publisher.
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rslnwife
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When you are trying to get
published for the first time is it so horrible to sell all rights?
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Mary Rosenblum
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Not necessarily....although
some folk will gasp in horror as I type this.
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Mary Rosenblum
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You can never use that story
again, or those characters or that universe.
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Mary Rosenblum
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For a fiction piece, that
could have repercussions.
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Mary Rosenblum
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But it's very tempting to make
that first sale.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I am not found of the words
'always' and 'never' but do think about the fact that these characters and
this universe are closed to you forever.
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Mary Rosenblum
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For NF it's less of a
headache.
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Mary Rosenblum
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You can't use any part of this
particular article ever again, but you can use the same facts and writer
other articles.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Newspapers generally take all rights
because they syndicate some stuff.
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sailor
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If you did not already know
Sherlock was protected by copyright, how can you find out w/o hiring a
lawyer?
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Mary Rosenblum
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YOu can do a search at the US copyright office
or you can pay them 65 dollars an hour to search for you. :-)
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destiny8
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Can I sell all rights and write
another version I will own?
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Mary Rosenblum
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With different characters and
major changes, yes.
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kolanda
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I recently referred to Nancy
Drew books in a short story, but only referenced the book, did not use any
of it. Is that acceptable?
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Mary Rosenblum
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Yep, that's fine.
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cjwmahrus
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What about posting your work on
your own website?
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Mary Rosenblum
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Here is the US copyright office definition
of 'Published'.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Publication has a technical
meaning in copyright law. According to the statute, "Publication is
the distribution of copies or phonorecords of a work to the public by sale
or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending. The
offering to distribute copies or phonorecords to a group of persons for
purposes of further distribution, public performance, or public display
constitutes publication. A public performance or display of a work does not
of itself constitute publication." Generally, publication occurs on
the date on which copies of the work are first made available to the
public.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Since the public has access to
your website, and the material can be copied and distribuited, it's
published in the eyes of copyright law.
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Mary Rosenblum
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If you do a reading at a
conference, that is performance. Not published.
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Mary Rosenblum
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If you post a work in progress
on a passworded critique site like Storycrafters, that is private --
available to members only -- and is not considered to be published
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Mary Rosenblum
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anymore than if I hand out
five copies of my story to my writers group.
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tory
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Can you clarify, Mary. You are
violating coopyright to poast a photo from Google, but you can do it?
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Mary Rosenblum
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If you are not selling it, tory.
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Mary Rosenblum
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If you are using it for your
own purpose -- on your website, say -- it is covered under 'Fair Use' law.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Let's say I find a cool photo
of the Orion nebula and I put it on my website. That's fine.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Now let's say I want to use
that photo to create a bookmark to promote my books.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I have to get permission from
the author. I'm using that photo to advertise work for sale.
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ltsonya
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What is non-exclusive electronic
rights? Does this also mean they completely own the electronic rights (you
can't republish on the web after X amount of time)?
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Mary Rosenblum
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No, you have it backward, ltsonya.
:-) That means the purchaser is NOT buying exclusive rights to that piece.
You can publish it elsewhere at the same time AS LONG AS THAT PUBLISHER
BUYS NONEXCLUSIVE RIGHTS, TOO.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Exclusive rights means 'only
here, nowhere else'.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Let's say I sell anthology
rights to a 'Best of the Year' anthology. I do that fairly often.
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Mary Rosenblum
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They buy 'nonexclusive
rights'.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I had the same story in two
anthologies that published at the same time last year.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Nonexclusive rights.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Now I just sold a story to
another anthology. Exclusive anthology rights.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I can't republish that story
for a period of time after it comes out. (I think one year, but I can't
remember. Might be six months).
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Mary Rosenblum
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Then the rights revert to me,
and I can sell anthology rights on that story again.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Exclusive rights. I can only
publish it in this anthology for a certain period of time.
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mmmmmm6
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If a website takes first rights,
does this deter publishers?
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Mary Rosenblum
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Yes.
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Mary Rosenblum
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They often won't buy second
rights.
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tory
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You can mention the title of
another book. What about 5-10 words? Must you get permission for even that
small amount as long as you say where it came from?
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Mary Rosenblum
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Here's what the copyright
office says:
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Mary Rosenblum
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Under the fair use doctrine of
the U.S.
copyright statute, it is permissible to use limited portions of a work including
quotes, for purposes such as commentary, criticism, news reporting, and
scholarly reports. There are no legal rules permitting the use of a
specific number of words, a certain number of musical notes, or percentages
of a work. Whether a particular use qualifies as fair use depends on all
the circumstances.
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Mary Rosenblum
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But notice the limitations?
Reporting. Commentary, Criticism. Scholarly reports.
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Mary Rosenblum
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NOT fiction.
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quixote
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you suggested earlier '...0ne
time use in a book or a story'... then 'for a limited time' on the
internet... who decides the 'limited time'?
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Mary Rosenblum
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Your contract. :-)
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Mary Rosenblum
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That's what a contract is all
about.
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Mary Rosenblum
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How much permission you are
giving for what length of time.
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Mary Rosenblum
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You really need to READ your
contracts.
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Mary Rosenblum
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That's why I posted that link
to the SFWA legal page in the newsletter, where you can read sample
contracts.
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barbiq
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so you can't quote another book
in a work of fiction, for example one character telling another character
about a book they had read?
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Mary Rosenblum
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Sure you character can tell
another charcter about a book he read. That's not quoting the book.
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Mary Rosenblum
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What you cannot do is include
a verbatim page lifted straight from that book without permission.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I get permission requests all
the time, often for a single paragraph.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Someone wants to use it in a
textbook or an article on writing or something.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I love it! I give them a
beaming 'yes please'. Most writers are thrilled with the PR>
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jitterbug
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If you sell your personal story
to an anthology bk, does
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jitterbug
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that mean u can't write another
story about that personal
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jitterbug
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experience?
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Mary Rosenblum
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Good question, jitterbug.
Let's make a clear distinction between words and ideas.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Copyright ONLY covers the
actual words.
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Mary Rosenblum
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You can only sell a copy of
those specific words to another publisher if it does not violate the
contract you signed with the publisher of that anthology.
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Mary Rosenblum
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You can write about your
personal experience all you want.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I am always telling my NF
students to write three or four or five versions of a topic and publish
with different magazines.
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Mary Rosenblum
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So far, my winner is six
different sales from one topic.
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builder guy
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I know If you share an idea it's
a free market. Hell some one can take off with that Idea just because you
have not. Do you think keeping your PIE HOLE shut about an Idea that may be
Awsome in your thoughts will keep your idea safe while your making it
happen. (slow term)
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Mary Rosenblum
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Builder, I get this question
so much and the answer is both yes and now.
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Mary Rosenblum
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In the prose world, ten
writers can take the same idea and end up with ten very different books.
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Mary Rosenblum
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One might be a blockbuster,
six might be duds, three might be okay. Same idea.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Now I hear that in Hollywood (and I
hear this from folk in the biz) ideas are what sell. There, you keep that
pie hole shut if you know what's good for you.
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Mary Rosenblum
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And often, you may have to
sign a statement if you pitch an idea to a production company that you will
not sue if they bring out something similar later.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Ideas ARE a hot item there.
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Mary Rosenblum
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But not in the prose universe.
It's what you DO with the idea that sells the book. Not the idea itself.
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rslnwife
|
What about a non-fiction article
about a historical person?
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Mary Rosenblum
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Are you asking if it violates
copyright in any way, rsln?
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rslnwife
|
That question was actually from
a while ago...and selling all the rights...
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Mary Rosenblum
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Ah, okay. Sorry. I"m
getting a LOT of questions. :-)
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jitterbug
|
What rights do you need to keep
just the copyright if you
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jitterbug
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plan to use the same characters,
etc
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Mary Rosenblum
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Just don't sell ALL rights and
you're fine.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Let me define some of the most
common rights purchased:
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Mary Rosenblum
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First Rights (First North
American, First World).
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Mary Rosenblum
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You sell permission to publish
this work FIRST.
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Mary Rosenblum
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If you sell First NA rights,
you can sell First European rights at the same time.
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Mary Rosenblum
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If you sell First English Langauge
Rights you can sell First French Rights at the same time.
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Mary Rosenblum
|
Many publishers these days
acquire First World Rights.
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Mary Rosenblum
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That covers all langauges and
all forms of publication including electronic.
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Mary Rosenblum
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But once it is published, you
can sell Second or Reprint rights.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Exclusive -- only in this
publication, nowhere else (usually for a limited time).
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Mary Rosenblum
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Nonexclusive -- you can
publish other places that buy nonexclusive rights.
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Mary Rosenblum
|
Anthology rights: First or
Second, exclusive or nonexclusive -- right to publish work in a collection
with other stories.
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Mary Rosenblum
|
Electronic rights -- right to
publish in electronic form -- your contract will specify.
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Mary Rosenblum
|
Be careful about duration
there. You don't want to find that you have sold exclusive electronic
rights with no 'end date'.
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quixote
|
isn't there an intenational
convention that binds all signatories? So rights in the US say, apply in France or Australia?
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Mary Rosenblum
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About 100 countries abide by
international copyright law.
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barbiq
|
The usual sale includes first
rights either in the USA or internationaly....correct?
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Mary Rosenblum
|
For books, magazines, and top
of the line ezines, yes.
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mmmmmm6
|
I assume the rate you are paid
depends upon the rights?
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Mary Rosenblum
|
Yes. You get paid much more
for first rights.
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rslnwife
|
Would that published article be
one of my clips then? Even if I sold all rights.
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Mary Rosenblum
|
Any published article is part
of your clips, rsln. Doesn't matter what rights you have sold. :-)
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barbiq
|
Isn't that really what happened
with DaVinvci code? Dan Brown, Steve Barry and Jack Whyte all came out with
stories about the templar's at the same time....
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Mary Rosenblum
|
Yes, and that happens all the
time! What do you think we gossip about when we're at conferences? Who's
writing what?
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Mary Rosenblum
|
You'll often see a bunch of
similar stuff crop up at once. Look at the 'cyberpunk movement' in SF.
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Mary Rosenblum
|
Bill Gibson started it. A
bunch of other folk, moi included, used some of the basic ideas.
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builder guy
|
I hope eventualy your agent or
your publisher will take care of your rights with their lawyers in the long
run. Am I wrong here mary?
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Mary Rosenblum
|
Not if you ONLY publish novels
that are handled by a good agent, builder.
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Mary Rosenblum
|
But any more, that's a limited
part of the market.
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sss1208
|
are you going to post all these
rights , so we can read them later
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Mary Rosenblum
|
I am indeed, sss. It'll be in
writing craft: Forum Transcripts. :-)
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andi
|
do the publisher who published
the story let you know when the exclusive time is up?
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|
Mary Rosenblum
|
Nope. :-) You need to pay attention.
I've had some squeakers, believe me! I've sold a story, say, to Asimov's,
and then had some editor ask to use it
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|
Mary Rosenblum
|
in an anthology, but I can't
republish it for six months after it appears in Asimov's.
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|
Mary Rosenblum
|
So I have to know when that
story will be out, and when the anthology will be out.
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jitterbug
|
So basically if u sell all
rights it's going to be for only
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jitterbug
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a shory period of time
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Mary Rosenblum
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If you sell All Rights, you
can never use that story or piece again, but here's the nasty catch, all
you fiction writers out there...
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Mary Rosenblum
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you can never use those
characters again either.
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Mary Rosenblum
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And you can never resell that story.
When you sell All Rights all those words and those characters belong to the
purchaser.
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Mary Rosenblum
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If you want to use those
characters again you must buy the right to do so from that person.
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charie'
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If the publisher (with exclusive
1st rights) pushes back the print date, can you still sell 2nd rights after
original contract date?
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Mary Rosenblum
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That is a VERY good point, charie,
and where some legal wrangling arises.
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Mary Rosenblum
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It depends on your contract.
Say your contract stipulates that you cannot republish the work for six
months after publication
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Mary Rosenblum
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but the publisher puts off
publishing the story and you have an editor who wants to put it in an
anthology....
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Mary Rosenblum
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you are stuck.
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Mary Rosenblum
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If the contract says 'six
months after publication but if the work is not published within 12 months
of signing, all rights revert to the author' then you're fine.
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rslnwife
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Can they tell you when it will actually
run? Things I have read sound like they just leave you waiting for it to
show up.
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Mary Rosenblum
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They can usually tell you
within six months when it will run. Sometimes sooner. You have to ask. But
not all magazines are well run, sigh.
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destiny8
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If I sell all rights to an
article, then the mag decides not
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destiny8
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to publish it, can I get my
ownership back?
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Mary Rosenblum
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Nope. Once you sign a contract
transferring All Rights to someone, it's gone forever unless they sign
those rights over to you once more.
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info
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Just out of curiousity, what
happens if say I come up with a charactor John Doe and write a novel about
him and the next writer writes about John Doe but it's a different charactor
and different story? Can two writers who doesn't know each other have a
character with the same name without knowing it and they both get
published?
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Mary Rosenblum
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Sure. Names are not
copyrightable.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Characters ARE.
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Mary Rosenblum
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If you put Bart Simpson in
your next novel and he's yellow and talks like the TV character you are
violating copyright.
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Mary Rosenblum
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If you have a tall, stoop shouldered
janitor who's kind of dumb and his name is Bart Simpson and everybody
teases him about it, making Bart Simpson jokes, you're fine.
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kolanda
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if they pay you for it and then
wait does that make any difference or is there a difference in paid and
unpaid
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Mary Rosenblum
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I'm not quite sure what you're
asking here, Kolanda. Want to clarify a bit?
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sailor
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First World Rights gives them
first time rights in whatever medium them choose, but not multiple media,
correct? So, if they publish a story in a print mag, they could not later
publish it in an anthology as well.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Sailor, the rights they're
buying should be more define than that. First world rights to publish in
Sailing magazine.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Now contracts will often
include anthology mentions.
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Mary Rosenblum
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When I sign an Asimov's
contract, it includes a paragraph that says they get to use that story
without further permission from me in any
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Mary Rosenblum
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anthology that includes 80%
Asimov stories. And they pay me a specific fee for doing so.
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Mary Rosenblum
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So I often get a check in the
mail telling me that they've used such and such story in such and such
anthology.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Checks are nice and the right
to do so is nonexclusive.
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kolanda
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if they pay you for a story and
wait a year to run it and you have already sold it to someone else is that
a problem. Maybe this question still doesn''t make sense
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Mary Rosenblum
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It's a big problem for YOU Kolanda.
If you have signed a contract giving them first rights, then it's up to you
to make sure that you do not publish it elsewhere until they do.
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Mary Rosenblum
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This is part of the life of a
writer. You have to know which of your stories are free to republish and
which are not yet free to republish.
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cjwmahrus
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Would clips include a website
posting then, even if your own
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Mary Rosenblum
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Well, an editor isn't going to
pay any attention to a posting on your own website.
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Mary Rosenblum
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They want to know that a
publisher thought your work was worth buying. :-)
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kolanda
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so, the year doesn't matter if
they haven't run it yet, just the first rights clause
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Mary Rosenblum
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First Rights means you
GUARANTEE them the right to publish it first.
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builder guy
|
Last ? from me, Do you keep your
Aces in the hold when you know you have something that can be great in your
own eyes? I mean a really good story.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Well, kind of, yeah, builder.
:-) I mean I share it with my writer friends, who aren't going to use my
idea. But I don't sit around at a conference bar with the rest of the pros
and spout off about my great new idea.
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Mary Rosenblum
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HOwever....most of us are very
very ethical.
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Mary Rosenblum
|
I've been crowing quite a bit
lately about my cool new alternate history universe. I've got a novelette
coming out and I plan to do a novel
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Mary Rosenblum
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in that universe. Nobody else
in the SF world is going to do that now.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I've sort of put my brand on
it.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I"m not going to steal my
friend's generation ship universe or try to do what Stan Robinson is doing
with his Mars books.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Everybody will know I"m
stealing.
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kolanda
|
thanks Mary, the light bulb now
burns brightly on first rights
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kolanda
|
it sounds as if a new writer
could really get bogged down in all of this, what is the best way to avoid
pitfalls while trying to break into print
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Mary Rosenblum
|
You said it, Kolanda! This is
why I'm going this Forum and why I've let it run WAY over time.
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Mary Rosenblum
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You can get WAY bogged down
and it can be costly.
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Mary Rosenblum
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You really do need to learn
how to read contracts.
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charie'
|
Is there a clause to request in
case the 1st rights publisher goes out of business before publishing your
story?
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Mary Rosenblum
|
This can get sticky. Riight
now a bunch of books are tied up in a bankruptcy case and will be stuck as
assets until the case is settled.
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Mary Rosenblum
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SFWA is getting involved.
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Mary Rosenblum
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That clause should be in there
if you're dealing with a novel contract.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Let me post some good resource
URLS because I do need to end this.
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Mary Rosenblum
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We'll do more forums on rights.
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sailor
|
Here is an attorney's web site
that has lots of articles about rights and contracts for writers: www.ivanhoffman.com/helpful.html
Some of them give examples from actual court cases. There are other
attorney sites out there, but this one seemd very extensive.
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Mary Rosenblum
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I'll look at that one, Sailor.
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cajunbelle
|
So, SHOULD we have a lawyer when
it comes to reading
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Mary Rosenblum
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Just educate yourself Cajun.
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Mary Rosenblum
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You can always ask questions
here.
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Mary Rosenblum
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Writers Beware case studies: http://www.sfwa.org/beware/cases.html
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Mary Rosenblum
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Read them and weep!
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Mary Rosenblum
|
Great examples of bad
mistakes.
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Mary Rosenblum
|
sfwa.org Writers Beware: http://www.sfwa.org/beware/index.html
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Mary Rosenblum
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bookmark that Writers Beware
page and read it many times.
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Mary Rosenblum
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It's a great education on
publishing matters.
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Mary Rosenblum
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http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/
US copyright office.
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Mary Rosenblum
|
Publaw.com http://www.publaw.com/index.html
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Mary Rosenblum
|
Publaw.com is a very good
legal site and the lawyer who runs it has given me persmission (copyright
issue here...I need his permission) to post his articles in the LR
newsletter.
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Mary Rosenblum
|
Publaw.com legal articles: http://www.publaw.com/legal.html
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Mary Rosenblum
|
Read these articles. They
cover a WIDE range of topics and offer a lot of help regarding electronic
rights.
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barbiq
|
Is there any why that Long Ridge
can include a section in BIP on Copyrights?
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Mary Rosenblum
|
I'd write to LR and suggest
it. They're thinking about redoing that course. :-) It should be covered.
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tory
|
I worked for a year to locate a
photographer whose work I'd seen on line to get permission to put one of
his photos on my website. Guess I coulda just done it. Oh, well--that's why
we attend Mary's forums!!
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Mary Rosenblum
|
You could have, tory.
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geezer
|
How long should I wait for
payment after a SS is published?
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Mary Rosenblum
|
Sorry, geeze, I meant to
answer you.
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Mary Rosenblum
|
Generally that is specified in
the contract.
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Mary Rosenblum
|
On publication usually.
|
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Mary Rosenblum
|
If you don't get paid in
thirty days, I'd query.
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Mary Rosenblum
|
But check your contract.
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sailor
|
Thanks, Mary. It seems that new rights
keep evolving so there's always more to learn on this subject.
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Mary Rosenblum
|
Ah, electronic rights are a
JUNGLE!
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Mary Rosenblum
|
Go read those publaw articles!
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Mary Rosenblum
|
Well, thanks for coming all.
|
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Mary Rosenblum
|
It's a complicated topic. I
learned it the hard way and I was lucky not to get burned in the process.
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Mary Rosenblum
|
As the publishing world
expands it's getting MUCH more complicated, partly because of the BAD
contracts out there.
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