Please follow the links below for guidance on details of your contract.
Author agreements
When a work has been commissioned it is time to do the paperwork. An agreement between ourselves as publishers and you as author needs to be raised.
There are many reasons for doing this, but mainly we need to formalise the arrangements that have been agreed verbally (i.e. delivery dates and royalties) and to satisfy the law in acquiring the copyright to the work so that we may publish it on your behalf.
Our authorship agreement is typically an eleven page document that might look a little daunting at first sight but don't be alarmed. The agreement aims to cover all eventualities, hence its length. We aim to represent you, as your publisher, in a professional and efficient manner and start this process by entering into an agreement laying out all the terms and conditions relevant to the publication of your work.
We are frequently asked by authors to explain various issues relating to the publication of their work, so we hope the following guide is useful.
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What is copyright and why do publishers ask for it to be assigned to them?
Copyright is literally the right to copy.
In writing your book you have created a copyright work and by law in order for us to publish the work you must grant us the rights to do so. It is our policy to acquire the entire copyright to your work throughout the world for the full term of copyright. We can then manage all aspects of the commercial exploitation of the work for you so that you do not need to spend time dealing with such things as the sale of the translation rights, permissions requests or instances of copyright infringement.
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What are moral rights and what do I need to so with them?
Moral rights are separate rights to that of copyright and belong to the author of a work. The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 gives creators of copyright works four moral rights, these are:
- the right to be identified as the author of a work ('the right of paternity')
- the right to object to derogatory treatment of the work ('the right of integrity')
- the right not to have a work falsely attributed to him/her as author
- the right to privacy (in respect of certain photographs and films only).
As publishers, we respect these rights and comply with the 1988 Act by asking the author to assert his/her right of paternity and undertake to ensure that the author's name appears on every copy of the work produced by us. We also undertake to ensure that the content is not subject to derogatory treatment. This means that, aside from the normal editorial process, we will do our best to ensure that the work is not altered or adapted without the approval of the author.
Another definition of derogatory treatment is 'distortion' of the work. It is with regard to distortion of the work that the Act can cause problems for publishers and authors. Technically the act of digitisation and manipulation of a paper work necessary to convert it into an electronic format is a 'distortion' and consequently derogatory. We ask our authors to waive their moral rights in relation to the exploitation of the work in electronic form.
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Warranty and indemnity: why do publishers need this?
Our author contract, in common with those of most commercial publishers, contains a warranty and indemnity clause. The reason we require authors to sign up to such a clause is because we as publishers have no independent way of knowing whether or not a work is the author's own original work.
The author is the only one who can give an absolute warranty, that his/her work does not violate or breach any existing copyright or contain defamatory or libellous material and that it is an original work. We, therefore, need to include a clause in the agreement to ensure that the author takes responsibility for the content of the work. An author who knows that he/she has gained the necessary permission to use third party material, or that his/her work is original and contains nothing defamatory or libellous has nothing to fear from the warranty and the accompanying indemnity.
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Libel
By accepting the warranty and indemnity clause in the contract, you have guaranteed inter alia that nothing in your book is potentially defamatory or libellous. The only defence against a claim for libel is to prove that what has been said is true. To do this you must be able to provide several credible, reputable and independent sources to support your claim and you must be willing to appear in court and repeat the allegation under oath.
Specific danger areas include allegations relating to an individual's mental, sexual, criminal or financial history. Be clear about what is fact and what is opinion.
Please make your publisher aware of anything potentially libellous as early as possible, so that appropriate legal advice may be sought if necessary.
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When do I have to obtain permission to use third party material?
It is your responsibility to obtain permission to reproduce in your text any copyright material in which you do not control the copyright. It is best to start obtaining permission as soon as possible, ideally while you are writing the manuscript.
For very small abstracts or excerpts, authors and publishers may allow you to use the items free of charge but you must still obtain written permission. Permission must always be obtained in respect of material (no matter how little) which has been adapted in any way.
You should bear in mind that publishers or individuals could charge exceptionally high fees for the right to reproduce their copyright work. Unless your contract with us states otherwise, you are ultimately responsible for paying the permissions fees. If you apply for permission early enough, but the fee is too high, there may be time to choose an alternative, less expensive figure or piece of text.
Permissions should all be cleared by the time you deliver your manuscript. If the permissions have not been cleared in time, publication may be delayed while the outstanding permissions are obtained and the acknowledgments copy completed.
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Seeking permission
You can obtain permission by contacting the publishers cited on the copyright page of the publication concerned. It is important that you contact the publisher and not the author because in many cases the publishers are also the rights holders; if they are not, they will redirect your request. It is recommended that you make your requests as early as possible because there may be a delay on the part of the publishing house dealing with your request.
When seeking permission you should ask for non-exclusive world rights in the English language, including US rights and state that the permission is also required to cover any electronic form versions of the work and any future revisions or editions and any foreign language translations. You must obtain a written reply to your request which you should then pass on to your editor, who will hold all the responses in the file for the work. As a word of warning, authors are entitled to payment for the use of their material so do not be surprised if there is a charge.
These guidelines are for guidance only. They are intended merely to provide a brief overview of some of the issues relevant to publication of your work and not as a substitute for independent legal advice. It is the responsibility of authors/editors to obtain such advice.
Permissions checklist
- Start early: apply as you write the book. You will have to replace material if permission is refused.
- You must have written permission for copyright material. Base your application letter on the permissions letter provided below.
- Ensure you send a copy of what you intend to reproduce and give full source details including page number.
- Use fax or e-mail, especially to addresses outside the UK.
- Chase, preferably by fax or e-mail (you may have an incorrect address), if you haven't heard within one month. If you still don't hear, find alternative material to put in.
- Send originals of all permission letters to your editor.
- Consult your publisher or editor if you have any queries.
Permissions letter
The following can be used as a basis for a letter requesting permission to reproduce copyright material.
[Your name]
[Tel no.]
[Fax no.]
[e-mail]
[Date]
[Copyright holder's address]
Dear Sir/Madam,
REQUEST FOR PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE COPYRIGHT MATERIAL
I am preparing the following book for publication by Pearson Education:
Title:
Estimated extent:
Author(s)/Editor(s):
Print Run*:
Proposed publication date*:
Price*:
In which I wish to reproduce the following material (copy enclosed) from one of your publications: [Give figure or extract details from title by author, date of publication, and page reference] I should like to request non-exclusive world rights in the English language, including/excluding* US rights. This permission is also required to cover any electronic form versions of the book and any future revisions or editions and any foreign language translations. I would be grateful if you could confirm that we may have permission to reproduce the material described and let me know (i) whether any fee will be payable in respect of this permission, (ii) whether there will be any particular requirements concerning the acknowledgement, e.g. form of wording or position. A 'Permission Granted' slip is included at the foot of this letter for your convenience. If you wish to use this, please sign it and return the whole letter to me. If you do not hold the rights in the material, I should be grateful if you could forward this request to the appropriate person, or return it to me with the contact details in order that I might approach the copyright holder directly. In view of the production schedule I would appreciate it if you could deal with this matter at your earliest convenience. Yours faithfully,
PERMISSION GRANTED Signed............................................................................................................
Date...............................................................................................................
Company.........................................................................................................
Fee..................................................................................................................
Acknowledgement...........................................................................................
*Your publisher will be able to supply you with these details.
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