After the period of one year, the publisher and author will jointly share the rights. This means the writer is free to sell the work elsewhere, but [publisher] also retains the exclusive rights to reprint and/or electronically publish all articles appearing in the magazine.
Clause Type:
This clause follows one that granted exclusive rights to a magazine publisher. After one year, the author regains all rights in the work but this grant back is non-exclusive: the publisher will continue to be permitted to publish the work, including online.
Author is owner of the copyright in the Work. Author is entitled to all the benefits contained in the United States Copyright Law effective as of the date of the signing of this Agreement, including but not limited to Section 203, which provides authors and their successors with a right of termination.
(a) Publisher shall print in every copy of the Work a copyright notice that contains Author's name as owner of the copyright and that complies with the United States Copyright Act and the Universal Copyright Convention; and
(b) Publisher shall, within three months of first publication, duly register a claim for United States copyright in the Work, in the name of Author as "claimant"; and
(c) Every license granted by Publisher hereunder to reproduce and distribute copies of the Work shall contain a requirement that the licensee print the aforesaid copyright notice in all copies
Thanks to the Authors Guild for this model clause. The clause specifies that the author retains all copyrights in the work, but obliges the publisher include a copyright notice in the author’s name. If the publisher licenses rights to anyone else to make or distribute of the work, the publisher's contract with its licensee will demand that those copies include a copyright notice in the author’s name.
OnceWritten.com does reserve the right to feature winning entries on the website and in publications promoting the website for the lifetime of OnceWritten.com. In the case that the work is later re-printed in another publication, OnceWritten.com requests that written credit be given. Authors retain all other rights.
This clause appeared in the terms and conditions of a poetry contest. The author retains her copyright, but allows the contest sponsor the non-exclusive right to use the winning entry on the sponsor's website and in publications promoting the website. The author authorizes these uses for so long as the website remains up. The author should also give credit to the contest sponsor if she republishes the winning poem elsewhere.
Author grants to Publisher the exclusive rights to print, publish, distribute, sell and license the rights to any and all editions and/or formats of the Book, in whole or in part, in the English language throughout the world.
Author grants to Publisher the non-exclusive right to Electronic versions of the Book. (Electronic versions shall be defined as online and digital reproductions and displays of the verbatim text and illustrations of the Book, or excerpts, for promotional purposes only. This grant of rights shall in no event be deemed to be a grant of electronic-book or audio-recording rights, which are reserved by the Author.)
These rights shall be granted to the Publisher for a period of five (5) years from date of this agreement.
These clauses—taken from a negotiated literary contract— are among the author-friendliest we've encountered. Although the grant of English-language print rights is broad, it also is brief. The author recovers all rights after five years. Moreover, the contract explicitly reserves to the author the e-book and audio-book rights. In addition, because the contract covers only English language rights, the author retains foreign language rights.
COPYRIGHTS
Publisher is hereby expressly authorized and agrees to register a claim to copyright in the Work in Author’s name with the U.S. Copyright Office within three months after first publication. Each copy of the Work published pursuant to this Agreement shall include a copyright notice in Author’s name in accordance with United States Copyright Law and the provisions of the Universal Copyright Convention.
This is a good example of the type of an author-friendly notice clause.
