Overreaching Clauses for Academic Authors

In consideration of his/her acceptance by the Publisher as a contributor (the Contributing Author) to the Work and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, the undersigned Contributing Author agrees as follows:

The undersigned Contributing Author grants to the Publisher the exclusive worldwide right to publish and sell the Article, in print format or in any other media, and all Articles contributed to subsequent editions, under its own name and under other imprints or trade names, during the full term of copyright and all renewals thereof. The undersigned Contributing Author assigns to the Publisher the worldwide copyright in the Article, for use by the Publisher in such manner and medium, including electronic media, as the Publisher wishes. In exercising this right the Publisher may (i) make translations, (ii) prepare other versions, or (iii) quote from and otherwise utilize the Article or material based on the Article, and the Publisher may grant permissions and licenses to third parties to do the same.

This is a contract for the publication of a contribution to a book of articles by several different authors.

The first paragraph of this excerpt means that the publisher will not pay the author for the rights the author grants.

The second paragraph means that the author gives up all her publishing rights -- print, digital, audio, and any other media -- for the whole world, for the full term of copyright. The publisher has the right to publish the work under its own name, but also under other imprints, and to allow others to publish: this can mean that the work, which the author expected would be published by the Publisher's prestige imprint, can end up being published by some less desirable imprint owned by the same Publisher, or even by someone else. Because the author assigns her full copyright to the publisher, she has no rights left in the work to sell to anyone else. The publisher may change the article, translate the article, make other versions of the article, and use any material from the article - all without getting the author's approval to any change, translation, version, etc.

In order that [journal] may disseminate the WORK to the fullest extent, the author(s) hereby irrevocably grants, assigns, conveys, and transfers exclusively to the [journal]the copyright in the WORK identified herein (including but not limited to figures, tables, artwork, abstracts, or summaries submitted with the WORK), under all laws, treaties, and conventions throughout the world in all forms, languages, and media now or hereafter known or developed without limitation in consideration of the publication of the WORK in [journal].

This is a contract for publication of an article in a scholarly journal. It grants the publisher all rights to the work, in any language, throughout the world, in any media available now or created in the future. The author receives no compensation other than publication of the work in the journal.

The Author hereby grants and assigns the entire copyright in the Article to The Law School (The Law School) for its exclusive use. The Law School shall be the sole proprietor of the copyright, consisting of any and all rights of whatever kind or nature now or hereafter protected by the copyright laws of the United States and of all foreign countries, in all languages and in all forms of communication,including, but not limited to, books, magazines, newspapers, pamphlets, and any current or future electronic medium or data storage system. The Law School, through itself or others, shall have the right to publish the Article in all languages and in all forms of communication.

The Law School grants the Author the right to reprint the Article in any book of which the Author is the author or editor, subject to the Author's giving credit in the book to the original publication of the Article in the Publication. Such credit shall include the original copyright notice as it appears in the Publication.

This agreement requires the author to assign all rights in the work to the law school which publishes this journal. The only right the author retains is the right to publish the article as part of a book which she authors or edits.

2. COPYRIGHT AND TITLE

2.1 The Contributor hereby grants to the Publisher for the legal term of copyright including any renewals and extensions the exclusive and irrevocable right and license to produce publish communicate to the public and exploit and to license the production publication communication to the public and exploitation of 2.1.1 the Text 2.1.2 any part of the Text 2.1.3 any new edition or other adaptation or any abridgement of the Text in all languages throughout the world in volume form and in any other form or medium whatsoever including (but not by way of limitation) any form of electronic publication distribution or transmission (whether now known or hereafter invented) that the Publisher may wish. The rights granted in this Clause may be exercised by the Publisher and its wholly owned subsidiary and sub-licenses of all translation and subsidiary rights on such terms as the Publisher may determine. 2.2 The copyright in the Text shall remain vested in the Contributor.

5. MORAL RIGHTS

5.1 The Contributor agrees that amendments alterations or additions to the Text made by the Publisher or the Editor or a third party pursuant to Clauses 1.1 or 6.2 or for the purpose of preparing supplements or new editions of the Work, will not infringe the Contributor's right of integrity in the Text as provided in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. The Contributor further hereby waives such right when such a waiver is an essential condition of the exercise of any of the subsidiary rights.

This is a contract for a book to be published by a British publisher which is why there is a Moral Rights clause in the terms.

The terms of this agreement are very overreaching. Although the last line of Section 2 of the agreement purports to allow the author(s) to retain the copyright in the work, the rest of the clause renders it almost meaningless. Section 2 gives the publisher the exclusive right (meaning no one else has the right) to publish the book - or any part of the book or any new edition(s) of the book - around the world as long as the book is protected by copyright. Presumably this would include translations of the work, although that right is not specifically mentioned. This clause also gives the publisher the right to adapt the work in any media - even forms not yet invented. In a particularly egregious clause, clause 5, the author(s) is/are forced to waive any moral rights they might have in the work if said rights might interfere with the publisher's exercise of any of the subsidiary rights. Furthermore, as is mentioned in our section on moral rights, moral rights in written works are not recognized in the United States. Therefore, this clause is meaningless in the U.S.; it does not grant an author rights not recognized under U.S. law.