German legal advisor considers copyright requirements at TIBF session

1394/02/21-11:45

A German legal advisor says book publishing royalty belongs to original author first and foremost, adding publishers must substantiate any claims to such publishing rights.

Jessica Sanger was speaking in Tehran in a panel discussion on publishing rights and different contracts between authors and publishers.

The panel debate was staged on Sunday on the sidelines of the 28^th Tehran International Book Fair (TIBF).

Also deputy head of legal department in the German association of publishers and book sellers, Sanger said book publishing royalty make the main asset of any given publisher, adding the legal right must be protected through a contract between author and publisher.

Sanger said such contracts must address relevant publishing benefits including sale, legal content, content quality, royalty, and author’s reputation.

The legal advisor urged the publishing corps to follow a checklist of contractual provisions in their profession, adding the checklist must address content, quality standards, title of work, and paper quality among others.

Sanger then considered third party rights in a publishing contract, saying royalty of images and privacy of individuals involved in a work are among such rights, adding however the scope of the rights may change according to the laws and regulations of any given country.

Turning to the case of electronic publications, the German legal advisor said authors must meet a number of requirements in developing an electronic work, including adaptation rights, mass copying rights, distribution rights, storage rights and delivery rights.

Sanger said any contract on electronic publications must address use of technology and information transfer, user interaction, and virtual world advertisement among others.