Licensing 101

© 2004, John Calder
http://www.TheEzine.net

As a marketer, you are no doubt familiar with the concept of reprint rights and resale rights. Perhaps you seek the dream scenario of acquiring exclusive rights to a hot niche product. Yet, you come up against an obstacle: no one has created a product in your niche!



Is there a way around this? Yes, and it comes down to re-examining where you source your content. When you fail to find a quality, resalable, digital product among the "reprint rights craze" crowd, it's time to head back to the pioneers of content licensing. In other words, head straight to traditional book publishers.



Licensing 101



Licensing through traditional publishers appears daunting at first glance. Yet, the process is quite simple when you understand:



Types of rights available
What to look for
Who to talk to





Available Rights

Publishing rights fall within two very broad categories: Primary rights and Subsidiary rights. Primary rights, quite simply, describe all of the publisher’s intended uses of a given work. Subsidiary rights describe those uses left to the original author.



How these rights are assigned depends on the publishing agreement. Authors typically grant to their publisher: hardcover rights, paperback rights and translation rights. They may retain electronic reprint rights and book club rights, but this is not always the case. Again, it depends on both the publisher and author’s intended distribution of the work. There may or may not be third-party licensing options available.



What to Look For

As an information marketer, you want to find a work available for third-party licensing. Specifically, you should look for subsidiary electronic reprint rights. Start with small, specialized publishers first. You’ll face less bureaucracy and you’re also much more likely to acquire contact with the original author for direct negotiation.



It should be noted that some publishers require continual licensing fees from third-party sales. When you acquire electronic reprints rights, you do not necessarily get a “one off” license to reprint the same way you do in the internet marketing world. Many publishers classify one time fee rights acquisition as “Direct Marketing Rights”. Yet, those rights extend only to tangible books. You’ll need to negotiate a special case if you want to avoid perpetual licensing fees, assuming the publisher holds the subsidiary rights. However, if the author retains those rights, you may be able to work out a joint venture.



Who to Talk To

Typically, your first contact will be with the publisher. Visit the publisher’s website and look for the contact information for the “Subsidiary Rights Department” (This is the common department name. In some cases, you may need to search for variations like “Rights and Acquisition” or “Acquisition and Licensing”).



In other cases, authors may negotiate rights through their agents or their publisher may outsource licensing issues to third-party agencies. Again, the publisher should be able to direct you in either case.



Resources to Get You Started

Subsidiary licensing does involve more negotiation and more legal responsibility than an average resale rights venture. Ultimately, you may need to hire an attorney to assist in contract negotiations on third party rights. Meanwhile, familiarize yourself with these resources for comprehensive information on rights acquisition as it pertains to the publishing industry:



PubLaw – a legal perspective

Writer’s Services – an author’s perspective

Communication Creativity – a marketer’s perspective (educational video tape)