Clause 63

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

CLAUSE TEXT:

WRITER'S AGREEMENT

3. Kill fee. If an article you have been assigned is ultimately not accepted for publication, you will be paid a "kill fee" of 25 percent (25%) of the Basic Fee.

7. Grant of License. (a) In exchange for payment, you grant [Publication] a perpetual, worldwide license to reproduce, modify, distribute, publicly perform, publicly display the article (i) on the [site] located at [URL] (or any other Web site owned, controlled, syndicated, published co-published by [Publication]) ("Site"), (ii) [Publication] presentations regarding the Site and (iii) in written and electronic supplemental material designed to promote or market the Site. Included in the display rights outlined above is the right to electronically archive the article for retrieval by users of the [Publication] Site in perpetuity. The rights in each article are exclusive for three (3) years after the first display of each such article on the Site ("Period of Exclusivity"). Exclusive means without limitation that you agree not to offer the article to any third party to reproduce, modify, distribute, publicly perform or publicly display in any form or format, unless otherwise negotiated.

(b) Author's Re-use. After the period of exclusivity, you have the right to re-sell the article to any market or medium, including without limitation, television, film, video, print (including, without limitation, books) and audio, alone or as part of a larger work; provided, however that you shall request proper credit, such as "This article first appeared in [Publication], a Web site located at [URL]."

8. Re-use. You grant [Publication] the perpetual non-exclusive right to license or syndicate the use or adaptation of your article(s) to any other medium or market, now existing or hereafter developed. Should [Publication] receive a fee for such license, you will receive 25 percent (25%) of the applicable pro rata net proceeds from said fee. (Newspaper syndication is excluded -- you will not receive an additional fee for such reuse.)

EXPLANATION:

This is a contract between an on-line publication and freelance contributors. It contains a kill fee provision stating that the author will receive 25% of the basic fee for any assigned articles which are ultimately not published. It also grants the publisher exclusive rights in the article, including the right to modify the article, for three years following first display on the site. However, the publisher only has the right to use the article on its website, on other sites that it is affiliated with, or in presentations or supplemental materials regarding its website. After the three year exclusive period, the author regains his rights, although the author must still provide credit to the publication. Additionally, the publication retains non-exclusive rights to license or syndicate the article to another market, provided that the author receives 25% of the proceeds.