The Writer's Legal Guide, Fourth Edition

Tad Crawford, Kay Murray

• Publisher: Allworth
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9781621532910
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Authorship
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

In an increasingly digitized and complex publishing world, writers need to know how to protect themselves against copyright infringement, legal trouble, and unwise concessions to publishers. Still the author's foremost advocate for copyright protection, fair contracts, and free expression, the Authors Guild has once again partnered with Allworth Press to update this invaluable reference. Thoroughly revised to reflect the many changes in the publishing industry, the fourth edition offers plain-English explanations of legal and business aspects of the trade, from electronic rights and ebooks to contracts and accounting. Other topics include:

• Registering copyrights, including online
• Taxes and bookkeeping
• Following fair use guidelines
• Negotiating contracts with publishers and agents
• Obtaining permissions to use others' work
• Dealing with periodical, syndication, film, television, play, and audio rights agreements
• Handling business disputes
• Understanding libel, privacy, and the limits of free expression
• Avoiding self-publishing missteps
• Planning authors' estates

INDEX

A

AAR. See Association of Authors’

Representatives

Academic publishing contracts, 155

Accelerated Cost Recovery System

(ACRS), 278

Acceptable manuscript. See

Satisfactory manuscript

ACRS. See Accelerated Cost

Recovery System

Actual malice standard of fault, 109

Addison, Joseph, 75

Agents

agreements with, 232–236

clause, 173, 232

commissions, 234–235

exclusive right of representation, 233–234

literary. See Literary agents

model, 170

pricing, 220

separate payments, 235

services provided, 234

termination, 235–236

Amendments, 141

American Arbitration Association, 263

American Society of Composers,

Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), 69

American Society of Journalists and

Authors (ASJA), 314

Amtrak, 125

Anti-American, anti-Christian, anti-Semitic and just plain filthy, 120

Appleton, Dina, 248

Approved Production Contract (APC), 255

Arbitration, 178, 262–263

Archival copying, 65–66

ASJA. See American Society of

Journalists and Authors

Association of American Publishers, 216

Association of Authors’

Representatives (AAR), 227

Attribution, 243, 245

Audio licenses, 182–183

Author

agreement with agent, 232–233

definition of, 11

discount on books, 172–173

Authors Guild, 99, 171

Authors Guild Model Trade Book

Contract and Guide, 172

Authors Registry, 69, 314

B

Bad debts, 296

Bailment, 146

Baldwin, James, 120

Baltis, John, 288

Bankruptcy, 177

Berne Convention, 25, 27, 30, 78, 79, 98

“Big Hairy Woman,” 64

Binding agreement, 138

Black Boy (Wright), 120

Blogs, 7

Boilerplate contracts, 2, 154, 157

Book Deal, The (Rinzler), 7

Book Industry Study Group, 175

Book publishing contracts, 142

Breach of confidence, 91

Broadway theaters, 255

Business expenses

commissions, fees, and salaries, 277

health insurance premiums, 273

moving expenses, 273

professional development, 272– 273

professional equipment, 277–282

supplies and office expenses, 272

travel, transportation, and entertainment expenses, 275–276

workspace expenses and homeoffice deduction, 273–275

Byron, Lord, 95

C

CAA. See Canadian Authors Association

Cader, Michael, 5, 227

Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music, Inc., 64

Canadian Authors Association (CAA), 315

Capital gains income, 270

Cat in the Hat, The (Geisel), 64

Caveat emptor, 141

Celebrity rights law, 101

Censorship, 117–118

campaigns, 120

obscenity, 118–119

school and library, 119–121

Center for Social Media, 69

Cerf, Bennett, 301

Chace Act in 1891, 79

Chaos Below Heaven (Vale), 101

Children’s books, royalty rates for, 169

Childress Rule, 43–44

Citizen Media Law Project, 8

Claims, 117

Clemens, Samuel, 96

Clevenger, Joseph, 96

Clevenger case, 100

Clevenger’s Annual Practice of New

York, 96

Clinton, Bill, 133, 134

Collaboration agreements, 45, 239–245

assignment, 245

attribution, 243

control of work, 240–242

copyright and joint authorship, 237–239

copyright registration, 244

defining joint work, 239–240

expenses, 242–243

income, 242–243

legal responsibility, 244

mediation/arbitration, 245

publishing contract, 245–246

termination of, 244–245

Common law copyright, 14, 15, 19

Community for Creative Non-Violence v. Reid, 39, 42

Community property and copyright, 45–46

Confederation of States, 76

Conference on New Technological Uses (CONTU), 66

Confidential sources, protecting, 116–117

Contemporary community standards, 119

Contracts, 137

accounting and statements, 173

advance, 166–167

agency clause, 173

amendments, 141

assignments of, 142–143, 191

audio licenses, 182–183

bailment, 146

children’s books, 169

consideration, 139–140

credit and publicity, 193

deep discount royalties, 171–172

department, 155

due date, 191

ebooks, 170–171, 213–215

expenses and fees, 192–193

final note of advice, 183

financial terms, 165–166

free copies and author’s discount, 172–173

hardcover trade books, 168

independent contractor status, 194–195

joint accounting, 174

legal competency, 140

legal risk allocation, 175–178

list v. net-based, 167–168

mass market royalties, 169

negotiation

basic rules of, 146–150

tips, 150–152

noncompete clauses, 181–182

noncompetition, 194

offer and acceptance, 138–139

option clause, 180–181

out-of-print/reversion of rights, 178–180

ownership and control

electronic rights, 159–160

foreign rights, 158–159

grant of rights clause, 155–156

length of grant, 160

non-print-related subsidiary rights, 157–158

print-related subrights, 157

reservation of rights to author, 160

subsidiary rights, 156–157

performance, excuse, 143–144

publisher’s records, examination of, 175

remainders, 172

remedies for breach of contract, 144–145

reserve against returns, 174

scope of rights, 188–191

statutes of limitations, 145

subsidiary rights payments and accounts, 1...