Copyright
8. Exploitation of Copyrights
You have your copyright. What next? Most authors will seek to publish their copyrighted material. Publication has traditionally been carried out by large third party companies, such as print publishing companies and record companies. However, self-publication, wherein the author, through his/her own means, has copies of the work reproduced and sold, is becoming increasingly commonplace. Each of these processes will be now briefly discussed.
When a third party company accepts a work for publication, the copyright in the work is normally licensed from the author to the publisher, in exchange for royalties. It is known, occasionally, for licenses to be granted on a lump sum basis. However, royalty payments based upon sales (i.e. on a per unit, or percentage, of revenue basis) are more common; such arrangements are usually more attractive to the publishers, since the success of the product in the marketplace is, of course, uncertain prior to publication. If you are interested in a licensing agreement, this area of the law is highly specialized, and we would strongly recommend that you seek the advice of an intellectual property practitioner to ensure that your rights are properly protected. It is necessary to precisely define the nature of the rights being licensed, and the nature of the rights being reserved by the author, as it is possible to license all, or just a part, of the bundle of rights which constitute copyright, and we have been consulted by many clients after they have already negotiated and entered into a license agreement, at which point, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to renegotiate the terms of the license agreement.
It is now common for professional quality typesetting and graphics to be generated easily by computer. Similarly, professional quality sound and video recordings may now be made, and produced in large quantities on CDs at relatively low cost. As such, self-publication is becoming increasingly popular. In such circumstances, there is no requirement for a copyright license relating to the author's works to be prepared. However, authors often utilize the services of other artists for the purpose of the production of the finished work. For example, a work of a famous photographer might be chosen as cover art for a book or CD, or original art might be commissioned for illustrations within a novel. In these circumstances, licenses, or outright assignments, of these works must be obtained in order that the author does not infringe upon the copyright of others when publishing his or her own work!
It will be appreciated that the foregoing comments relate primarily to works of the entertainment arts, which are desirable primarily for listening, viewing or reading pleasure. However, it is also possible to publish useful works, such as computer software, or other types of data. This type of publication has its own unique set of concerns, since the author may wish to restrict the manner in which the work may be used by the persons to whom it is distributed. This is commonly done by way of individual licenses (often termed "shrink-wrap licenses"), entered into between the publisher and each end-user. If you have "purchased" any computer software, you will likely have seen examples of such licenses, which typically state that the purchaser does not own the software, or indeed, the floppy discs, but only have a license to use the software upon the terms set out in the license. Typically, you indicate acceptance of these terms by opening the packaging containing the software discs.