Intellectual property (IP) is one of the business cornerstones for creators. Whether a video game developer, a tabletop game designer, an author, a content or other creator – copyrights and trademarks let creators protect their creations and livelihoods. Enforcing those rights helps prevent fraudulent and infringing actors from stealing goodwill and money from a creator …
Fan Content Policies: Working with your Community Read More »
After months of anticipation, the U.S. Copyright Office (USCO) has published the second part of its three-part report on the copyright issues raised by artificial intelligence (AI). Titled “Copyrightability,” this part focuses on whether AI-generated content is eligible for copyright protection in the U.S. The key takeaway? AI-generated works can be eligible for copyright protection—if …
Artists and writers have long submitted short stories, webcomics, and fan works to online literary magazines or on fanfiction websites as a way to hone their skills and gain exposure. Creators and their works span the globe and range from literary-style web novels to Japanese manga. In recent years, however, platforms have begun offering publishing …
“Subsidiary rights” usually refer to the right to exploit the book in other media. Pretty much any use of the book other than to sell copies of the book is a subsidiary right. Some lawyers would call these “derivative works” but in the literary world, they are subsidiary rights. Some examples include: Serial rights. This …
What are subsidiary rights in a literary publishing agreement? Read More »
Generally speaking, a media perils insurance policy protects the policyholder from lawsuits for libel and various intellectual property infringement claims. If the holder of the policy is sued for a covered claim, the insurance company would pay legal expenses to defend against the lawsuit and also pay any monetary damages or settlements related to the claim. …
In a previous post, I wrote about what an “advance” is. In short, it is a payment up front that is an advance against the future revenue streams for a book. What is a “good” advance? A cynical answer to this might be “any advance is a good advance.” That is a reflection of the …
What is a good advance in a literary publishing agreement? Read More »
Royalties are probably the biggest part of an author’s publishing agreement. The section can read like a list of jargon-heavy terms that, unless you’ve looked at one of these agreements before, might as well be a foreign language. Generally, the royalty rate paid to an author will be based on the list price. The amount …
What is the author royalty rate in a literary publishing agreement? Read More »
An “advance” in a publishing deal is similar to an advance on future payment in any other context. That is, it is not just a check written to an author in advance of the deal like you might think from the name. It is an advance-on-royalties. Meaning, the amount the author gets in the advance …
What is an advance in a literary publishing agreement? Read More »
Odin Law and Media will be among the exhibitors at this year’s NCWN Fall Conference in Wrightsville Beach this weekend. The conference features networking events, educational sessions, master classes, critiquing services and more. It should be a great gathering for North Carolina writers. Brandon J. Huffman will man the Odin Law and Media exhibitor table …
Join Brandon J. Huffman at the NC Writers’ Network Fall Conference Read More »
A “libel reading” is a form of content review where an attorney is reading a book or passage specifically to assess the risk of libel. What is libel? Libel is a published false statement damaging to a person’s reputation. So, the attorney is looking for statements that would, if published without revision, be damaging to a …