posted
Hey, say I submitted a short story to a ...magazine or something, and it got published with 'the standard' rights, and then (say a few years)later, I wrote a novel based on the short story (think sort of like enders game,) how does the copyright issue work out?
Does anyone have a clue? Does it even matter?
Thanks.
p.s. --I just have to add this... WOOOOOOO I finished the first draft of my second novel about 2 hours ago and THAT IS SOOO GREAT!
posted
Unless you did something very unusual (like selling them trademarks for the names of your characters and so forth), there is nothing to worry about here.
Posts: 8322 | Registered: Aug 1999
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posted
One of my clients is a playwright, and in working on their behalf I have found that what constitutes "standard" rights can vary wildly from contract to contract. Your best bet is to contact the mag with which you originally published and obtain a copy of whatever you signed to figure out precisely which rights you assigned to them.
When it comes to any property right (real property, patents, copyrights, trademarks) the best image is a bundle of sticks--each stick being an aspect of the right. You can give away one stick (like granting permission to someone to hunt your land), a few sticks (like leasing your land to someone), or the whole bundle (outright sale).
To answer your question, the copyright issue will work out depending on which sticks you still possess and which you gave away. Contact the "magazine or something" and get a precise definition of what they call "standard", preferably with a copy of the contract you signed at the time.
posted
Read the contract they want you to sign. It is amazing to me that most people don't do that. "Standard" terms also called "boiler plate" lanuague by us laywer types varies greatly. Make sure you understand what you are giving away and what you keep.
When in doubt it's worth the couple of hundred dollars to retain an employment lawyer and get an opinion. In the long run the money spent pre-contract will save you thousands (or hundreds of thousands) after the fact in a dispute. There are some great entertainment lawyers out there, a few of which are even agents.
Okay, cool. Obviously, I have not made such a sale, that's why I was so general in my question. I just didn't know if you were allowed to expand that story if you sold a piece of it, or if you had to give them... something-- money, I don't know. It was just a question that popped in to my head. I guess it all depends on the contract, which, if I am ever given one, I will most certainly read.
posted
Us lawyer types also routinely change supposedly boilerplate language so that it is more advantageous to our clients, and have to monitor vigilantly for changes to supposedly boilerplate language made by the attorneys of the other contracting party. When it comes to any kind of contract (especially the intellectual property category into which your story falls) the word "standard" is an illusion.
Posts: 683 | Registered: Oct 2004
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posted
If this is a reputable magazine (and if the editor is actually willing to pay professional rates for an unagented writer's story, it probably is), there is nothing to worry about.
Even if your contract grants them the trademark on your character names and so forth, all you'd have to do is change the names. So there is virtually no concievable motive for them to try and do this even if they weren't reputable.
By all means, check and make sure that the magazine is legit, and stay away from anyone that has ever pulled something shady on their contributing writers. But normally, this isn't something that becomes a problem with magazines.
If you're selling a book, that becomes a different issue. You need (and can easily get) an agent to protect your rights.
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