Contract red flag alert: perpetual license for derivative rights – by Victoria Strauss…

Posted on May 11, 2018 by

Originally posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware and reblogged via TRSA:

SFWA’s Contracts Committee has recently been seeing a proliferation of contracts from small magazines, and a very few established markets, that license all derivative rights in perpetuity.

This is a red flag for a number of reasons, even if these rights are licensed non-exclusively.

A derivative work is defined by copyright law as “a work based upon one or more preexisting works, such as a translation, musical arrangement, dramatization, fictionalization, motion picture version, sound recording, art reproduction, abridgment, condensation, or any other form in which a work may be recast, transformed, or adapted.”

This sort of rights grab is by no means normal; magazines generally only take very limited first publication and archival rights for a limited time.

Licensing the right to create derivative works can and mostly likely will interfere with the author’s right to exploit their right to create or license derivative works to others.

The risks of signing such contracts can be serious.

Continue reading at Writer Beware

About Sue Vincent

Sue Vincent is a Yorkshire-born writer and one of the Directors of The Silent Eye, a modern Mystery School. She writes alone and with Stuart France, exploring ancient myths, the mysterious landscape of Albion and the inner journey of the soul. Find out more at France and Vincent. She is owned by a small dog who also blogs. Follow her at scvincent.com and on Twitter @SCVincent. Find her books on Goodreads and follow her on Amazon worldwide to find out about new releases and offers. Email: findme@scvincent.com.
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13 Responses to Contract red flag alert: perpetual license for derivative rights – by Victoria Strauss…

  1. The Story Reading Ape says:
    May 11, 2018 at 17:13

    Thanks for helping spread the word, Sue ❤️

    Like

    Reply
  2. Mike says:
    May 11, 2018 at 19:06

    Well, someone’s getting greedy!

    Like

    Reply
  3. claire plaisted says:
    May 11, 2018 at 20:14

    Reblogged this on Claire Plaisted – Indie Author and commented:
    Must read…RED ALERT

    Like

    Reply
  4. Marilyn Armstrong says:
    May 12, 2018 at 00:20

    Life was hard enough for writers? We need more?

    Like

    Reply
  6. dgkaye says:
    May 13, 2018 at 01:57

    Thanks for this great share Sue. I’ve bookmarked for future reference. ❤

    Like

    Reply

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