The following review of Guide to Textbook Publishing Contracts was published in the June 2016 issue of Wisconsin Bookwatch, published by Midwest Book Review. It is being posted here with permission.
Register your own copyright: When, why, and how?
As textbook and academic authors, your copyrights are your livelihood, and the value of your copyrights is often enhanced by registering them in the U.S. Copyright Office – something that you can easily do for yourself. Yet, as publishing and copyright attorneys, we find that many text and academic authors know less than they should about copyright registration. Here’s our sample Q&;A conversation with an author who wanted to know more about when, why, and how to register the author’s copyrights:
TAA once again stands up for authors in Google Books case
More than a decade ago, in 2004, Google initiated a program, in concert with several university and large public libraries, to scan and digitize the entire contents of millions of books without regard to whether they were or were not still under copyright, ultimately making complete digital copies of more than 20 million books. Google’s goal was to expand its search business to include print works as well as online works. It spent hundreds of millions of dollars on this project, suggesting what Google believed to be its commercial potential.
Work-for-hire or transfer of copyright? Understanding your rights
In the publishing world, the concepts of “work-for-hire” and “transfer of copyright” can be challenging to navigate. Authors are often confronted in the publishing agreements by language that is vague and complicated, such as: “The work will be a work-made-for-hire as defined by the Copyright Act, but, if the work is deemed not a work-for-hire, author hereby irrevocably transfers all right, title and interest in the work to the publisher for the entire term of copyright throughout the world.”
Learn about the latest court rulings in the Google Books Case
On October 16th, a U.S. federal appeals court ruled in favor of Google and against the Authors Guild in a copyright infringement case that began 10 years ago over Google’s controversial book scanning project. Listen to a recording of The Copyright Clearance Center’s webinar, “A New High-Water Mark on Transformative Use? Update on the Google Books Case”, with attorney Lois Wasoff on the latest court rulings in the Google Books Case.
Top 11 Reasons to attend TAA’s 28th Annual Textbook & Academic Authoring Conference
Have you registered yet? Here are the top 11 reasons why you need to attend TAA’s 28th Annual Textbook &…