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LWP Books We publish the only legal reference guide series for writers that puts YOU in the driver's seat! Contracts Companion for Writers Copyright Companion for Writers Literary Law Guide for Authors Click here to buy the entire 3-book legal reference series for only $44.95 (a $65.85 value!)    domain draft drafting infringe infringing infringement legal lawyer write writing writer literary copyright contract contracts trademark servicemark fair use legalese attorney publish publishing publisher independent self publish public domain draft drafting infringe infringing infringement legal lawyer write writing writer literary copyright contract contracts trademark servicemark fair use legalese attorney publish publishing publisher independent self publish public	e-Reports and Forms Disclaimer: Neither Legal Write Publications nor the author is engaged in rendering legal or other professional services as a result of the information contained in these publications, and these publications are not meant to constitute legal or other professional advice. If legal or other professional assistance is required, the services of an attorney should be sought. |Forms|FREE e-Reports|View Cart/Checkout| NOTE: Forms noted with a are included on a CD-ROM in Contracts Companion for Writers. Literary/General Literary Agency Collaboration Licensing Permissions Book Publishing Release Form Work-For-Hire Copyright Registration Music Industry Co-Publishing (Music) Single Song Exclusive Song Buy the entire 3-book legal reference series for only $44.95 (a $65.90 value!) Forms Check back often and join our mailing list to be notified when a new sample form is added. Literary Agency Agreement   $14.95 An agency agreement is a document that details the rules which will govern your relationship with a literary agency as long as the agreement is in force. View Cart/Checkout top Collaboration Agreement   $14.95 Although the writer’s life is often solitary, sometimes two or more people decide to contribute to one work. This situation can be a blessing or a curse, depending on how you set up your professional relationship with your collaborators. If you intend to work with someone else to create a joint work, you should consider entering into a collaboration agreement. A collaboration agreement is used when two or more people contribute to a book; the contributors may be, for example, two authors or an author and an illustrator. The collaboration agreement sets forth the understanding between the parties regarding the nature of the work, their business relationship, what they will each contribute, what percentage of revenue for the book each will receive, and so forth. View Cart/Checkout top Licensing Agreement   $14.95 A licensing agreement sets forth terms that permit others the limited right to use your work. In contrast to an assignment (such as that in a publishing contract) where you, as the copyright owner, actually transfer the copyright to a new owner (the publisher), in a license you retain the copyright but give permission to the licensee to use the work in a certain way, for a certain time, and in a specified area. View Cart/Checkout top Permission Request   $9.99 A permission request is basically a short-form license agreement that lists the property to be used, the purpose for the use, and so forth. It notes the publication information and credit information. Keep in mind that many large companies have a preferred method of requesting permission to use a copyrighted work. So you should contact the publisher or owner, if possible, before submitting a permission request. Also, keep in mind that others are not nearly as interested in your deadlines as you are. So begin the process of clearing permissions as soon as possible. It generally takes most publishing companies four to eight weeks to reply to a permission request. View Cart/Checkout top Book Publishing Agreement   $14.95 In simple terms, a publishing agreement (also referred to as a book deal or contract) is a legal arrangement between an author and publisher. In a traditional publishing arrangement, the author agrees to transfer to the publisher certain rights in the bundle of rights associated with her copyrighted manuscript, and the publisher agrees, in turn, to pay for the costs to publish the manuscript. In exchange, both parties receive some financial gain (the publisher reaping the lion’s share, of course). By agreeing to pay for all costs of publishing (in the best-case scenario), in effect the publisher becomes an investor in the author’s manuscript. The publisher is entitled to recoup the initial investment and to take a sizeable percentage of the income generated by sales and licensing of the work. The author often receives an advance against royalties (explained below) and a percentage of royalties and subsidiary rights income. NOTE: This does not apply to a "vanity" press or "print-on-demand" publishing arrangement. View Cart/Checkout top Release Form   $9.99 Nonfiction writers write about real life and real experiences. Whether they are writing memoir, biography, or news reports, nonfiction writers tell a story—a real story. So there are certain legal issues that nonfiction writers in particular should be aware of before, during, and after the writing process. What differentiates fiction from nonfiction is that fiction is not real; it is made up; it comes from the writer’s imagination. Nonfiction, on the other hand, is factual or at least represents the author’s opinions based on facts. Nonfiction consists of many genres, such as history, philosophy, biography, and memoir. And in many forms of nonfiction writing, the writer interviews subjects or writes about real people and experiences. And photographers photograph subjects whose pictures may be used in a book. In these cases, writers should secure release forms from all relevant parties to avoid rights of privacy and publicity claims, as well as possible trademark infringement, defamation, or other similar causes of action. View Cart/Checkout top   Work for Hire Agreement with Assignment Clause   $14.95 An exclusive copyright generally exists in a work as soon as it is created in a fixed and tangible form. The creator of the work owns and controls the bundle of rights associated with copyright. An exception to that rule is the work-made-for-hire doctrine, in which the creator is not the owner for purposes of copyright protection. The Copyright Act provides strict guidelines that determine whether a work-made-for-hire situation exists. Work made for hire can occur in two contexts: that involving employers and employees and that involving independent contractors. In the first, work made for hire is done by employees within the scope of their employment. In the second, an independent contractor is specially commissioned to perform work for one of certain specific purposes. View Cart/Checkout top Copublishing Agreement Savvy songwriters will negotiate to receive some part of the publisher’s share of income. This is referred to as a “participation deal” (see the Co-Publishing Deal in Appendix B). In the case of participation deals, the songwriter receives not only the writer’s entire share but receives a portion of the publisher’s share as well. This is a very important opportunity that is negotiated depending on the strength of the writer’s negotiating position. When a writer participates in the publisher’s share of royalties, the writer generally enters into both a songwriter’s agreement to set forth the terms and conditions under which he receives his writer’s share of revenues and a co-publishing agreement to set forth the terms and conditions under which the writer participates in the publisher’s share of revenue. Only available in Contracts Companion top Exclusive Songwriter Agreement Songwriting and publishing agreements involve the transfer of rights in a musical composition (the actual music and lyrics) to a music publisher to exploit the song on a greater scale than the writer could do in her own right. The two types of songwriter deals are single and exclusive. Only available in Contracts Companion top Single Song Agreement Songwriting and publishing agreements involve the transfer of rights in a musical composition (the actual music and lyrics) to a music publisher to exploit the song on a greater scale than the writer could do in her own right. The two types of songwriter deals are single and exclusive. Only available in Contracts Companion top   Copyright Registration   FREE! There are currently three ways to register your copyright with the Copyright Office. All fees quoted are paid directly to the Copyright Office and no fee is collected by Legal Write Publications for this information. Forms are also available in Copyright Companion for Writers 1. eCo (electronic Copyright Office) $35 Register your work Preregister your work if you fulfill the requirements. Note, preregistration is separate and distinct from registration, and it is not a substitute for registration. It is available for certain types of works only. NOTE: eCO is compatible with Netscape Navigator 7.02 and Internet Explorer 6.0 and may work equally well with other desktop web browsers.   2. Registration with Fill-In Form CO - $50 The next best option for registering basic claims is the new PDF fill-in Form CO, which replaces Forms TX, VA, PA, SE, and SR. Simply complete Form CO on your personal computer, print it out, and mail it along with a check or money order and your deposit.   3. Printed Forms - $65 Paper versions of Form TX (literary works); Form VA (visual arts works); Form PA (performing arts works, including motion pictures); Form SR (sound recordings); and Form SE (single serials) are still available. These paper forms are not accessible on the Copyright Office website; however, staff will send them to you by postal mail upon request.   top     Click here for eCo             Click here for Form Co with Instructions     Click here to request paper forms via regular mail   e-Reports Check back often and join our mailing list to be notified when a new e-Report is added. top What is Copyright? (and why you should care) FREE! This e-Report explains what copyright is, what it protects, how long it lasts and other important details about copyright. View Cart/Checkout   What Copyright Does NOT Protect NEW! FREE! The e-Report discusses what information copyright laws do not protect, including facts, recipes, directions and short phrases. View Cart/Checkout   The Benefits of Copyright Registration NEW! FREE! This e-Report covers the many important benefits of registration. Registration is not required for rights to exist but enforcement and protection is closely tied to registration. This document also explains what the "poor man's copyright" is and why it is a myth that does not protect your work. View Cart/Checkout The Different Types of Intellectual Property: What's in a Name? FREE! The Literary Game: The Players and the Process FREE!   A Few Things Every Writer MUST Know About the law FREE!	NETWORK WITH LWP FOLLOW US @ Twitter.com Resources for Writers Forms & FREE e-Reports NEW! *Agency *Publishing *Permissions *and more! More resourceswriti ng writer literary copyright contract contracts trademark servicemark fair use legalese attorney publish publishing publisher independent self publish public domain draft drafting infringe infringing infringement legal lawyer write writing writer literary copyright contract contracts trademark servicemark fair use legalese attorney publish publishing publisher independent self publish
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