[Writer Posts] A Slew of Concerning Contracts
I really have to start writing these things the day before… Then they won’t be late and/or rushed.
In the last week, I’ve been made aware of a clause that’s been showing up in things like a DC comic related competition, an HBO Game of Thrones competition, and something else I saw today that I can’t remember (because…stuff).
It’s this…
(ii) waive all moral rights in the Submission which may be available to you in any part of the world and confirm that no such rights have been asserted;
Until Writer Beware explained it and I saw it mentioned elsewhere, I never knew about this clause, but you can bet your sweet bippy that I’ll be looking for it from now on.
What this clause means whoever is asking you to sign the contract not only doesn’t have to credit you the creator, they can put someone else’s name on it. Why? What’s this point? No.
It’s not bad enough that companies are trying to grab rights – HBO’s contract to all rights in perpetuity (yeah, NEVER AGREE to “in perpetuity” – you will NEVER EVER get that piece back again – it no longer belongs to you. You can’t do ANYTHING with that).
OH… DUDE… the third place was a literary magazine Nick Mamatas mentioned that took rights like this but at least offered something insulting like $50. At least it was payment – and then was snarky about it to Mamatas on Twitter (brilliant move).
The point is, read the contracts. Listen to people who’ve been around this block a few times, and if you don’t understand something – ASK. Because if you don’t understand what you’re signing, it can can come back to bite you. I didn’t know about this “moral” thing until this week (it showed up THREE TIMES!), I know about it now – and I won’t sign off on it.
It’s a GI JOE moment… “And knowing is half the battle… GO JOE!”
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Possibly the other troubling contracts were from “The Toast” and “The Butter” as mentioned by Scalzi?
Yes, those are the ones.