Post by account_disabled on Jan 6, 2024 7:03:54 GMT
When a publishing house agrees to publish your book, it presents you with a publishing contract : another detail that makes you understand how a book, in addition to being art and literature, is also a commercial product. Do you know everything about the publishing contract? I think not. To clarify some important points of this contract - which binds the author and his work to a publishing house - I wanted to interview the lawyer Giuseppe Briganti , who provides consultancy on various legal matters, including Civil and Commercial Law and Private International Law (in which copyright applies). 8 questions about the publishing contract: what you need to know before signing it Does an author have the right to demand changes to the publishing contract? Let me explain: some time ago I asked an editor for explanations on two points of the contract, but from his answer I understood that that was the contract and he would not change it. Is it a writer's right to have some changes made, within the limits, so to speak, of decency? The publishing contract, like all contracts, should be the result of an agreement between the parties on the various clauses.
On the other hand, it is true that, as often happens, in this hypothesis we are normally faced with a strong contractor (the publisher) and a weak contractor (the author). The publisher therefore proposes its own Special Data standard publishing contract text; the author can attempt to request changes, but the publisher remains free to accept them or not, as there is no obligation to conclude the contract, neither for one nor for the other party. For how long do you grant the right to publish the book? I still take as an example my misadventure with that publisher - with whom I never published anything - who had "imposed" 10 years on me. I asked a friend, who worked in publishing, and he replied that there were too many. The publisher said that, since it was a web-related topic, 10 years was like forever. To me it seems too many when you don't yet know the publisher, even if it were fiction. Let me explain: if I publish a novel with a publishing house and I get on very well, with the next novel I can stay with that publisher for up to ten years.
I know of American authors who have always published with the same publisher. What advice would you give to a writer dealing with his first publisher? Even in this case, the publisher's strong position does not normally leave much room for negotiation for the author. In any case, it is necessary to respect the provisions of the law in this regard. The publishing contract is in fact regulated by articles 118 et seq. of the law on copyright (law 633/1941). Pursuant to art. 122 of the law, the publishing contract can be "per edition" or "per term". The “per edition” contract gives the publisher the right to carry out one or more editions within twenty years of delivery of the complete manuscript. The number of editions and the number of copies of each edition must be indicated in the contract. However, more hypotheses can be envisaged, both with regard to the number of editions and the number of copies, and with regard to the relative compensation. If these indications are missing, it is understood that the contract concerns a single edition for a maximum number of two thousand copies.
On the other hand, it is true that, as often happens, in this hypothesis we are normally faced with a strong contractor (the publisher) and a weak contractor (the author). The publisher therefore proposes its own Special Data standard publishing contract text; the author can attempt to request changes, but the publisher remains free to accept them or not, as there is no obligation to conclude the contract, neither for one nor for the other party. For how long do you grant the right to publish the book? I still take as an example my misadventure with that publisher - with whom I never published anything - who had "imposed" 10 years on me. I asked a friend, who worked in publishing, and he replied that there were too many. The publisher said that, since it was a web-related topic, 10 years was like forever. To me it seems too many when you don't yet know the publisher, even if it were fiction. Let me explain: if I publish a novel with a publishing house and I get on very well, with the next novel I can stay with that publisher for up to ten years.
I know of American authors who have always published with the same publisher. What advice would you give to a writer dealing with his first publisher? Even in this case, the publisher's strong position does not normally leave much room for negotiation for the author. In any case, it is necessary to respect the provisions of the law in this regard. The publishing contract is in fact regulated by articles 118 et seq. of the law on copyright (law 633/1941). Pursuant to art. 122 of the law, the publishing contract can be "per edition" or "per term". The “per edition” contract gives the publisher the right to carry out one or more editions within twenty years of delivery of the complete manuscript. The number of editions and the number of copies of each edition must be indicated in the contract. However, more hypotheses can be envisaged, both with regard to the number of editions and the number of copies, and with regard to the relative compensation. If these indications are missing, it is understood that the contract concerns a single edition for a maximum number of two thousand copies.