Dear Mike,
Thank you for your most encouraging insight. I agree with you on all counts. I am retaining a Literary Attorney as they are experts in copyrights. What I've heard from this forum and the attorneys that I've spoken to, my understanding of copyrights has been spot-on. This, I am very excited about, in the midst of all this upsetting and surprising scenario.
My next question I will need to find out is whether I should just move forward with this "classic" that I have written. I have no wishes to cheat anyone out of any just deserved profits - even if they have become an enemy. I will have to ask the attorney whom I hire whether they can stop me from fulfilling my original postulate of writing and publishing my first best-seller. Reviews from those who have read the manuscript have shown this to be a very real possibility - To Kill a Mocking Bird meets The Color Purple. (a cross blend of in depth message with torment and survival). Those who have read it said they could not put it down until they were finished with it :) - my plan all along.
Though I will continue to write other stories just as well, I just hate to walk away from this wonderful work I've created. It should be read and enjoyed. Now I now why I'm not a pastry chef or an ice sculptor.
Oh yeah! To answer your question, I think I nailed myself when included a "friendly" clause regarding premature termination of the agreement. The consensus seems to be that it could be argued, and I might win, but I left myself open to trouble on the way it was worded. That said, it all falls back on the copyright. I may not try to fight the termination of the contract in court but I will not "go away" or be "cut out of the deal" just the same if they decide to move forward with it and not share the royalties - which is what I really think they are scheming to actually do.
Does anyone know if they can stop me from moving forward on this, submitting the manuscript to publishers? They probably can if their is a do-ownership of the copyright.
Wish me luck!
Robert Steven Nahas
http://www.writerservices.net
PS - This contract is not a WFH :)
>
> I certainly wouldn't do what the attorney says. I'd hire my own
> attorney. The other side is playing hardball.
>
> That said, what is the loophole and how does it affect the contract?
> If the contract is still valid, you are 50% co-owner of the copyright
> and so is the other guy. If the loophole somehow makes the ownership
> clause of the contract invalid, "whoever writes it, owns it" would
> likely be true.
>
> RE registering the work with the Copyright Office, if your 50%
> ownership is valid, you have the right to register the entire work.
> However, registration won't be proof of anything other than that you
> registered the work. The Copyright Office doesn't evaluate the truth
> of a registration, so it can't be used to prove your claims. Still,
> I'd register it. It will strengthen your hand in negotiating because
> it qualifies you for reimbursement of legal fess and higher damages
> should there be a lawsuit, and if it turns out later that you lost the
> co-ownership because of the loophole, the other side will just file an
> amended registration.
>
> = Mike Bradley
> www.techpubs.com
>
> PS
> Say, this contract isn't a work for hire contract, is it? Lots of
> collaborations are written as WFH contracts, but the work for hire
> clauses are almost always invalid. In your case, an invalid WFH clause
> wouldn't endanger your 50% ownership, though.
>
>
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Received on Sat Jun 25 2005 - 00:00:32 GMT
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