Clauses About New Media Rights

Clauses relevant to new media rights are designed to allocate control over new technological means of exploiting works. When a new technology comes along -– for example, a contract grants the right to “print” a book, and then digital media appear on the scene -- does the grant of the right include the new media, or not?

Many contracts “solve” this problem by specifying that the assignment of the rights in question extends to “all media now or hereafter known or developed.” This is meant to capture any possible media invented in the future.