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| Friday February 10, 2012 | 
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Writers Ask the Expert Serial Rights Vs. Print Rights
| Serial Rights Vs. Print Rights |
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| By Anne Bowling | |
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Q: After reading about the mess surrounding the Tasini decision, I’m confused. If I want to sell a story or article to a magazine to print one time after which all rights revert to me, should I sell first North American serial rights or first North American print rights? -Steve In the Tasini decision you mention, the Supreme Court ruled against The New York Times and others in their claim that in paying for first North American serial rights they automatically acquired the right to publish work electronically for profit with no additional compensation for the writer. This means writers may now sell electronic rights as separate from print rights, the upshot being they can earn more money for their work (in being fairly compensated). But what you also find is publishers specifying in contracts that they lump print and electronic rights together. Generally, yes, I recommend in whatever contract you’re signing that you reserve the right to be paid additionally if the publisher is going to use your work electronically for profit. The growth of electronic publishing has seriously complicated the serialization issue, so for more information (you don’t want legal advice from a liberal arts major, anyway) I suggest you check out a few different Web sites. First, intellectual property law attorney Ivan Hoffman is very active in posting information on the Internet related to this issue, and you’d do well to check out his site. There is also a great deal of information on the subject on the National Writers Union and The Authors Guild. Lastly, to be certain of what rights you’re selling and what you’re retaining with any given contract, it would be a good idea to have an attorney review it before you sign. Anne Bowling |
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