Writers and publishers are continuously facing a changing landscape. The Writers’ Union of Canada [1] has developed 12 core demands for the digital age. Interesting list for authors in negotiations with their publishers.
- Copyright legislation shall ensure the protection of intellectual property and appropriate compensation for rightsholders.
- Exceptions to copyright shall be minimized.
- The publisher shall split the net proceeds of ebook sales equally with the author.
- The author shall retain all e-rights not specifically granted to the publisher or producer and shall have the approval of any modifications made to the work.
- The publisher shall not exercise or sublicense ebook publishing rights without the express authorization of the author.
- When a book is out of print in print form, continuing sales in e-form shall not prevent a rights reversion to the author.
- For ebooks, the publisher in its contract shall replace the traditional “out of print” clause that triggers a rights reversion with a sales volume clause and/or a finite term of license.
- When rights revert, the publisher shall provide the author with the digital file of the book.
- The Public Lending Right Commission shall provide author payments for e-books and allot additional monies to this end.
- Libraries shall acquire digital copies of works in their collections only from rightsholders or their licensing agencies.
- Ebook retailers shall require the rightsholder’s permission for any free preview or download of an ework, and the rightsholder shall specify the maximum amount to be made available.
- Agents, publishers, aggregators, retailers, and libraries shall ensure that works in digital form will be well protected and will not be shared, trade, or sold outside the boundaries authorized by the contract.