In this section, we look at the parts of contracts that deal with copyrights. We have contracts that address the works of writers, photographers, video producers, and contributors to contests and user-generated content sites. We are continually adding more examples, and hope to cover a greater range of creators. If you’d like to send us some examples you have encountered, please contact us.
We have taken the contracts’ language verbatim, tried to explain it in plain English, and rated each clause on its friendliness towards creators. In most cases we have removed the names of the parties to the contracts, but where the contract was freely available on the Internet, the name of the publisher/distributor who proffered the form contract continues to appear.
Sample Clauses by Type of Grant
Here, sample clauses are sorted by the type of rights over the work that they grant to the creator or publisher.
Samples Clauses by Type of Creator
Here, clauses are sorted by the type of creator whose work they apply to.
Writers
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Samples of Complete Contracts
Within each contract, you may click on linked sentences or paragraphs for explanations.
We have been fortunate enough to have received a model contracts from the National Writers Union. This contract was drawn up in order to show to their membership what an ideal contract would look like. We thank the National Writers Union for their support and generosity.
Before and After
Although many businesses that exploit copyrights may tell you that the contract they present to you is a “standard form,” or that “everybody does it this way,” you may have more room to negotiate than you think. The publisher is probably expecting that you won't know any better, or that you are too intimidated to object. In fact, however, behind many standard forms are more standard forms, of increasing degrees of author-friendliness (or at least, of decreasing degrees of author-unfriendlines). If you object to certain clauses, chances are that the business with which you're dealing already has another version of the form contract with different clauses. Or even if you ask for something the business hasn't already anticipated, you might end up getting it anyway. It can't hurt to ask (nothing ventured, nothing gained), and you might find that your co-contractant, when pressed, can be very reasonable.
Below are some “before-and-after” examples of publishing contracts: contract language as originally presented to the author, and the language the author was able to work out with the publisher in the end.