May I Have Your Permission, Please?

If you’ve been following the permission request process outlined in Steps 2 through 4, you now realize that you must make some major decisions before you ask for permission.

To review­-

You must know these answers before requesting permission:
-        Who is the creator of the original material?
-        What is the source of the original material?
-        What territory is needed?
-        What language is needed?
-        Is the request for all editions or this edition only?
-        How will the material be used? (book, web site, blog, Power Point presentation, etc.)

You also need to know:
-        What is the anticipated life sales (units or dollars) of your product?
-        What is the estimated list price of your product?

For print material:
-        How many units will be in the first print run?
-        If a book, what is the anticipated publishing date?
-        If a book, what is the estimated page count?

The fee you pay for your rights will be determined by the answers to these questions. Think of your permissions request as a menu with a wide range of prices.

If you ask for world rights vs. North America only rights, the fee will be higher.

If you are asking to use a cartoon in a book with anticipated life sales of 12,000 units, the fee will be higher than if the anticipated life sales were only 5,600 units.

If you are asking to use a 5 stanza poem in a book with 75 pages, the fee will be higher than if the book had 545 pages.

Are you using an essay written by a well-known author or by someone more obscure? Want to guess which one will cost you more? Yes, the fee for the essay by the well-known author will definitely cost more.

There are times when you won’t be charged any fee, but this is the exception, not the rule.  How much could the rights cost? On an average, expect to pay anywhere from $150 to $1800 per request.

© 2009 Anne Wallingford. All Rights Reserved.

I have found the following sites to be useful for both the permissions editor and for the author/creator of copyrightable work. These sites provide valuable insights into different aspects of electronic (digital) rights.

Rights: What They Mean and Why They’re Important
Marg Gilks reviews different kinds of rights, from FNASR (First North American Serial Rights) through electronic rights and exclusive vs. nonexclusive rights.
http://www.writing-world.com/rights/rights.shtml

The Authors Guild
This Authors Guild post explains how the Grant of Rights clause in your publishing contract affects electronic rights.
http://www.authorsguild.org/services/legal_services/electronic_rights.html

FindLaw Library
This post explores how a publishing agreement connects permissions and out-of-print clauses to electronic rights.
http://library.findlaw.com/2000/Jul/1/127478.html

NWU (National Writers Union)
This is the recommended electronic rights policy of the NWU’s Journalism Division.
http://www.nwu.org/nwu/index.php?cmd=showPrinter&page_id=1.5.2.6.2

Barbara Brabec’s World presents the ‘all rights/electronic rights’ issue from a personal point of view.
http://www.barbarabrabec.com/writing_publishing/electronic_rights.htm

© 2009 Anne Wallingford. All Rights Reserved.

In my previous post, “Decision Time - What Rights Do You Need?” I reviewed the basic rights you will need to ask for in your permissions request, but I didn’t summarize electronic (digital) rights. You still need to make a few more decisions before you send out your permissions request.

Just a few years ago, all that was needed in a permissions request was to add the phrase “electronic rights” to the laundry list of rights requested. Life was simpler for the permissions editor back then but not as fair to the creators of original works. Today, a savvy author or publisher will ask exactly what types of electronic rights are being requested.

Will the material be on a CD-ROM?
Will the material appear on a web site or blog?
Is the material to be used in an e-magazine, e-newspaper, or e-book?
Will it be included in an archival database?
Will it be used in a Power Point presentation?
Will it be used in multimedia courseware or with a password-restricted site connected to a textbook?

In other words, when you make your request, you can simply ask for electronic rights. But you had better be prepared to answer specific questions about the type of electronic rights you want. Better yet, when you submit your permissions request, state upfront what electronic rights are needed. After all, why pay for rights you don’t need? (A sample of a permissions request will be in a future post.)

The type of electronic rights being requested will also determine the territory and language needed. For example, if you plan to include an essay, verbatim, in both a textbook and on a password-protected web site, the territory and language for the electronic rights will be the same as for the textbook. On the other hand, if you are using a cartoon on a web site or blog, you will need world rights because the Internet is accessible worldwide.

Remember–if there is ever a dispute over the electronic rights granted, the courts can use your signed agreement as a legal document to resolve the dispute. Clarify the rights you need.

© 2009 Anne Wallingford. All Rights Reserved.