Question 2

OK, let’s suppose that after giving the situation a lot of thought you agree to write an article for that national magazine. Do you then need permission from the magazine publisher to make copies of your article for your portfolio or media or press kit? Can you post your article on your website?

Answer

The right to duplicate and display their work are rights copyright holders enjoy. However, it’s likely you’ll need permission to duplicate or post the article, but it depends upon the agreement you signed. The odds are that you signed a transfer of rights agreement—even if you don’t think you did. In some cases the agreement will require an exclusive transfer of rights, where you transfer the copyright of your work to a publisher, record company, producer, or client company, in which case you have no remaining rights. Although this is the best-case scenario for the publisher or record company, it is the least favorable option for you, the author or creator of the work. In this case you give up the right to even make copies of what is technically considered your work.

Other alternatives are that you give the publisher many rights for a limited period of time, you give the publisher limited rights for a specific period of time, or you give the publisher rights and you retain certain rights. Some of the rights you may want to retain are

• the right to use portions of your work in other works you’ve created

• the right to make copies for your training presentations

• the right to make derivative works

• the right to edit or update your content

• the right to perform or display the work

• the right to include the work in your media or press kit.

 

On occasion, I’ve even heard of small trade magazines that don’t require a written transfer of rights. That’s not the norm, because for them to publish your work, you need to transfer some rights—in writing.

Let’s say the publisher had you sign an agreement for the nonexclusive right to print your article in its magazine, and you remain the copyright holder. Although you own the copyright to the article you submitted for publication, you do not own the rights in the way it has been placed in the magazine. That’s a form of expression protected by copyright. So while you may be able to reproduce your article in another forum because your agreement was nonexclusive, or give someone else the right to publish a similar article, you cannot photocopy the article from the magazine and duplicate it for your press kit without written permission from the copyright holder—the magazine publisher. That’s why it’s important to read every document before you sign, because the terms of the contract control the relationship.

Question 3

You give Publisher A permission to publish your book as a hard cover in the United States and its territories. You give Publisher B permission to publish a hardcover in the rest of the world. You give Publisher C permission to convert your book to a trade paperback throughout the world. You give an audio-production company the right to create an audio book based on your book. Is it legally possible to divide your publishing rights among these four companies?

Answer

Absolutely. As the copyright holder, you have the right to license all or a portion of your rights to whomever you want. In some cases, it may be to your advantage to give an exclusive license (including all sub-rights) to one publisher, particularly if you have an existing relationship and like the way that publisher treats you. It can also prove to be less cumbersome to have one accounting statement as opposed to several. Conversely, you could possibly negotiate a better deal if you divide up the rights among several publishers.

 

A final word: When you publish a book, article, or paper, many publishers will ask you to turn over all your rights. Doing this can be harmful to you in the long run, because it may prevent you from sharing that book, article, or paper or any part of it on your website, in your presentations, or with friends and colleagues.