Literary Licensing Agreement

Chapter12LiteraryLicensingFOREDUCATIONALUSEONLYLicensingIntell.Prop.§12.01(TREATISE)LicensingofIntellectualPropertyJayDratler,Jr.[FNa]Copyright©1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,20052006ALMProperties,Inc.,LawJournalPress(R),adivisionofAmericanLawyerMedia,Inc.NewYork,NewYorkChapter12.LiteraryLicensing§12.01IntroductiontoLiteraryLicensingOneofthemostcommonandoldestlicensesofintellectualpropertyinvolvesalicenseofabookorsomeothertextorliterarywork(e.g.,article).Whilethespecificnatureoftheliteraryworkmaycertainlyaffectthetermsthatthepartiesmustnegotiateinthelicense,therearemanytermsandissuesthatarecommontoalicenseofaliterarywork.Inthischapter,wefocusonalicenseofabook,asmaybeillustrativeoftheissuesandtermsthatmayariseinlicensesinvolvingotherkindsofliteraryworks.Authorsandpublishersoftenprotecttheirrightsbynegotiatingbookpublishinglicenses.Whilepublishersusuallypresentauthorswithstandardlicenses,manyclausesaresubjecttonegotiation,dependingontheauthor'sbargainingpower.Naturally,theauthor'sbargainingpowercorrespondsdirectlywiththemarket'sdemandfortheparticularbookorauthor.Evenwheretheauthorenjoysrelativelyhighbargainingpower,thereareseveralreasonswhyauthorslicensetheirbookpublishingrightstothepublisher,asopposedtoself-publishingthebook.First,thebookpublishermayhavesuperiormarketingandpublicityresources,includingaccessorabilitytodistributethebooktoreviewers,bookingauthormediaappearances,andorganizingauthorbooktours.Second,bookpublishersmaypaytheauthoranadvanceforabookpublishinglicense(asmuchas$8millioninonewidely-publicizeddeal);self-publishing,ofcourse,guaranteesnoreturntotheauthor.Finally,bookpublishersmayhelptheauthorexploitsubsidiaryrightsthattheauthorpossesses(i.e.,audiorights,motionpicturerights)inassociationwiththeauthor'scopyrightinthebook.Ofcourseinlicensingtheirworktoapublisher,authorsalsoforgocertainbenefits.Themosttangibleofthesebenefitsmaybeashareofthepotentialprofitsthatpublishersreceiveunderthelicensingagreementsinreturnforpublisher'seffortsandriskinagreeingtopublishthework.Lesstangible-butnolessimportantinmanyways-isthelossoftheintellectualpropertyrighttoexploittheworkthatbelongedtotheauthorinthefirstinstanceasthecreatorofthework.Booksgenerallyfallintotwocategories:tradeandprofessional.Tradebooksarenon-technicalgeneralinterestbooks,eitherfictionornon-fiction,generallysoldtothepublicthroughtraditionalmeans,suchasbookstores.ExamplesofatradebookincludethenovelGonewiththeWind,orabiographyofFranklinRoosevelt.Atradebooklicensemayalsoleadtosubsidiarylicenses,suchasamotionpicturelicenseoratelevisionserieslicense.Ontheotherhand,professionalbooksarespecializedbooks,focusingonaparticularindustry,andgenerallynotsoldtothepublicthroughtraditionalbookstores.Examplesofaprofessionalbookincludethistreatise.Professionalbooksusuallydonotinspiremotionpicturesormusicalplays,andthusaprofessionalbookdoesnotusuallyleadtosubsidiarylicenses.Tradebooklicensesaretheprimarysubjectsofthischapter.[FNa].GoodyearProfessorofIntellectualPropertyUniversityofAkronSchoolofLaw,Akron,Ohio(2003)LICENSIP§12.01ENDOFDOCUMENTFOREDUCATIONALUSEONLYLicensingIntell.Prop.§12.02(TREATISE)LicensingofIntellectualPropertyJayDratler,Jr.[FNa]Copyright©1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003,2004,20052006ALMProperties,Inc.,LawJournalPress(R),adivisionofAmericanLawyerMedia,Inc.NewYork,NewYorkChapter12.LiteraryLicensing§12.02RightsCoveredbyaLiteraryLicense[1]--RightofPublicationTherightstothebookthattheauthortransferstoapublisherinaliterarylicensearetheessenceoftheagreement.Theserightsincludetherighttopublish,distribute,andsellthebook.Dependingonthenegotiatedterms,thelicensemayalsoincludetherighttoexploitsubsidiaryrightsofthebook,suchastherighttodistributetheworkinamotionpictureorsomecomputerizedformat.ThegrantingofsuchrightsisnecessarybecauseunderU.S.copyrightlaw,theserightsbelongtotheauthor.[2]--FormatofBookPublicationThelicenseshouldspecifythespecificformatofbookpublication.Formatsofbookpublicationincludehardcover,tradepaperback,andmass-marketpaperback.[FN1]Naturally,thepublisherwillseektomaximizethenumberofformatsincludedinalicenseornegotiateforbroadlanguagethatmaybeinterpretedtoincludevariousformats.Ofcourse,authorsmayseektonegotiatefornarrowlanguageandfewerspecifiedformats.Agrantoftheexclusiverightofpublication,wouldgivethepublisherbothhardcoverandpaperbackpublicationrights.[FN2]Specifyingtheparticularformatsthatthelicensecoversmaygivebothpartiesmorecertaintyandavoidfutureconfusionastothenatureofformatsintended.[3]--SubjectMatteroftheLicenseInordertobeenforceable,alicenseshoulddefinetheworkasaccuratelyaspossible.Thetermsofthelicensemustbesufficientlydefinitetoenableacourttointerprettheintentofthepartiesifalegalquestionarises.[FN3]Merelystatinginthelicensethatthepartiesdesiretopublishacertainworkorworksbytheauthormaynotbeenoughforacourttoenforceanagreement.[FN4]Thus,licensesoftenincludethesubjectmatter,thetitle,andeventheapproximatenumberofwordsinthebook.Thelicensemayalsocontainotherrestrictionsonthelicensee'srightstothework.Forexample,theestat