Publishing And Digital And Electronic RightsPosted by Crowley Church on May 26th, 2021 The following publishing industry article addresses a few of the legal issues arising for publishing lawyers, entertainment attorneys, authors, among others due to the prevalence of e-mail, the Internet, and so-called "digital" and "electronic publishing". As usual, publishing law generally and regulations of the digital right and electronic right specifically, governing these commercial activities, has been slow to catch around the activity itself. Yet most of the publishing industry "gray areas" can be resolved by imposing old common-sense interpretations upon new publishing lawyer and entertainment lawyer industry constructs, like the digital right and electronic right, and others. And if after reviewing this article you believe you've got a non-jargonized handle on the distinction between "digital right" and "electronic right" in the publishing context, then I anticipate hearing from you and reading your article, too. 1. "Electronic Right[s]" And "Digital Right[s]" AREN'T Self-Defining. All publishing lawyers, entertainment attorneys, authors, and others must be very careful about the use of jargon - publishing industry jargon, or otherwise. Electronic and digital publishing is a recent phenomenon. Although as a publishing lawyer and entertainment attorney and unlike some others, I tend to utilize the phrase "electronic right" or even "digital right" in the singular number, there probably is commonly no single consensus as to what constitutes and collectively comprises the singular "electronic right" or "digital right". There's not been sufficient time for the publishing, media, or entertainment industries to fully crystallize accurate and complete definitions of phrases like "electronic publishing", "web publishing", "electronic right[s]", "e-rights", "digital rights", or "first electronic rights". These phrases are therefore usually just assumed or, worse yet, just plain fudged. Anyone who shows that these phrases alone already are self-defining, would be wrong. Accordingly, anyone, including a publishing lawyer or paralegal representing a book publisher or entertainment lawyer representing a studio or producer, who says an author must do - or not do - something in the realm of the "electronic right" or "digital right" because it is "industry-standard", should automatically be treated with suspicion and skepticism. The fact of the problem is, this can be a great era for authors and author-side publishing lawyers and entertainment attorneys, plus they should seize the moment. The point that "industry-standard" definitions of the electronic right and digital right have yet to fully crystallize, (if indeed they ever do), means that authors and author-side publishing lawyers and entertainment attorneys can take advantage of this moment in history. Of course, authors may also be rooked, too - particularly those not represented by a publishing lawyer or entertainment attorney. There is a long and unfortunate history of this happening, well prior to the advent of the electronic right and digital right. It has probably happened because the days of the Gutenberg Press. Every author ought to be represented by a publishing lawyer, entertainment attorney, or other counsel before signing any publishing or other agreement, so long as their own economic resources allows it. (But I'm admittedly biased for the reason that regard). Part of the publishing lawyer and entertainment attorney's function in representing the writer, is to tease apart the different strands that collectively comprise the electronic right or digital right. This should be done with updated mention of current technology. If your advisor with this point is instead a member of family with a Smith-Corona cartridge typewriter or perhaps a Commodore PET, rather than an entertainment attorney or publishing lawyer, then it might be time to seek a fresh advisor. BLUETOOTH SPEAKERSLike it? Share it! |