Clause 17

The terms of this clause aren’t the best we’ve seen, but they're not the worst either.

CLAUSE TEXT:

Pursuant to this Agreement, Contractor grants The [publisher] in our circulation area first publication rights to the Material, and grants The [publisher] an irrevocable, paid up, worldwide, transferable, license in perpetuity to copy, distribute, display, publicly perform, and create derivative works of the Material, including a license to redistribute, reproduce, republish, and to authorize republication, reproduction and syndication of all or part of the Material in print, in any microform media, in any database, or in any other media (computer, electronic, optical, video, CD-ROM, or otherwise) or form, now known or hereafter invented. This license shall be exclusive for ninety (90) days from the date of first publication of the Material by The [publisher]; thereafter this license shall be non-exclusive, unless mutually agreed otherwise in writing.

EXPLANATION:

This is a contract for a nationally-known newspaper. This clause gives the publisher the right to publish the work in any format, anywhere in the world, forever - including the right to edit the work and create derivative works. It also entitles the publisher to give any and all of those rights to anyone else. For 90 days following first publication, the publisher enjoys these rights exclusively. After 90 days, the rights become non exclusive, which means that the author can exercise the same rights, too. Both the author and the publisher can exploit the work without getting the other's approval (or paying for it).