Recourse for publication of work without permission??

itm2

I don't know if this is an appropriate place to post this, so apologies if not...

I came across a hardback book a few months ago. The third chapter of the book is a technical article which I wrote and published on my personal web page about 8 years ago. While I am credited by name for the chapter, neither the authors nor the publishers informed or consulted me regarding its publication.
I wrote to the publisher, requesting compensation in the form of a £500 writers fee for the article. Since then they have directed me to a few different people, and have given me a number of reasons to delay dealing with the invoice (e.g. saying that they had been trying to contact the author of the publication), but I have now reached the stage where I am unable to get any sort of response from them.
If the publisher were UK-based I'd file a claim in the small claims court, but since they're based in Germany I was wondering whether there was a way of settling this without incurring monstrous legal fees?

RadoJo

Were details about how to contact you for permission to use the article available on your website? Did you make any specific mention of terms and conditions of publication? I think you would need an expert in international law to determine exactly what their responsibilities are in terms of using your work before you could even begin to unravel your position with regards to payment. Was this a domain owned by you, or on a network? There are networks which have a clause about posting work allowing them to use it without your permission, so that may have a bearing on how much protection the law offers you.

itm2

My contact details were on the website, but no mention of terms and conditions. Opinion from writers groups that I have contacted suggest that my ownership of the copyright is not in doubt, but that my ability to claim any compensation is limited due to the associated legal costs. These are expected to be extremely high and probably unrecoverable.
The publisher said that they were having problems contacting the author of the work, but that if they hadn't succeeded by the end of September they would look at settling my invoice. Since then they have not been responding to any of my emails.

RadoJo

Hmm - well, it sounds like persistence might be your only option I'm afraid, but it sounds as though the publishing company are unwilling to pay out for something which should be the responsibility of the author/editor. Do you know for sure whether it is the publisher or the author/editor who is resopnsible for ensuring that all work is properly credited?

On the plus side, it must be pretty exciting to see your work in print, if you disregard the legalities of it! Congratulations!

itm2

Thanks! It would be nice if I could actually find a copy - I've only managed to locate an extract on a far eastern website.

Yes I think you may be right regarding my options. The publishing company indicated that they had assurances from the author regarding rights to publish the content, but ultimately the publisher is responsible for the checking the validity of the rights. In this case they clearly didn't. Not much help to me, of course....

pinkshoes

Do you know how many copies of the book were printed and sold?? Royalties are rather pathetic nowadays, and are usually paid from copies sold, not copies printed, so if it's only a book with a small print run and select market, then £500 might be rather optimistic!! It'd probably be more like £50 maximum, so not really worth it with the legal costs involved... possibly even £5...

I have an image published on the front cover of a book, and got £75 for it as a one off payment. I would have got alot more had it been a 'big' selling book, but it was just for a limited market reference book.

itm2

pinkshoes wrote: »

Do you know how many copies of the book were printed and sold?? Royalties are rather pathetic nowadays, and are usually paid from copies sold, not copies printed, so if it's only a book with a small print run and select market, then £500 might be rather optimistic!! It'd probably be more like £50 maximum, so not really worth it with the legal costs involved... possibly even £5...

I have an image published on the front cover of a book, and got £75 for it as a one off payment. I would have got alot more had it been a 'big' selling book, but it was just for a limited market reference book.

I have no idea how many were printed/sold - I wouldn't know how to go about finding out. All I know is that it was first published in 2001, and the current retail price is between £30-35.

The level of the fee may be a little optimistic, as you say, but I didn't see much point in going to all this trouble for £50!

pinkshoes

itm2 wrote: »

I have no idea how many were printed/sold - I wouldn't know how to go about finding out. All I know is that it was first published in 2001, and the current retail price is between £30-35.

The level of the fee may be a little optimistic, as you say, but I didn't see much point in going to all this trouble for £50!

You'd need to contact the publisher (not the author) to find out how big the print run was. Maybe someone in their sales department would be able to tell you if you can claim any royalties!?

Maybe just asking them for a 1 off payment of £50 would be an easy way to get something, and would avoid any lawyers fees?

codger

OP: the advice you received from the writers groups is accurate.

A German publisher is going to be difficult to chase for £50, never mind £500.

Best thing would be to keep things amicable -- after all, if this publisher is producing books on subjects within your area of expertise, why not see if you can strike up a little relationship with 'em with a view to you writing something for them?

Not all publishers are big. This one could be pretty small. And it might -- genuinely -- appreciate a conciliatory approach from you that might (might!) lead to a longer term relationship.

*PS: I'm an agent. Rate's 10% on UK earnings, 15% on overseas, 20% on translation and 20%, films & plays. Sorry but you'll need to pay me 75% for a six-page special in 'Hello'. . .

itm2

I've actually been pretty friendly in my last 3 emails from the last 6 weeks but they're simply not responding at all.
I was thinking of delivering a County Court/Small Claims summons to the UK office of the publisher. They're based in Germany but do have a full UK operation. Worth a try??

codger

Mmmm.

Not sure about the financial wisdom of launching a civil court action just yet -- it's going to cost. And you'll need to be very specific as to (a) nature of claim and (b) the evidence of financial loss arising in consequence of the defendant's conduct.

And it's probably best to bear in mind that CCJs tend not to feature overmuch (if at all) in the history of copyright battles. . .

Mayhap the best thing to do is have a word with your local CAB, or local Law Centre -- advice is free from both, albeit in this instance, the latter may well prove of more use than the former -- to determine the actual specifics of claim.

Then, when you have them (in suitable legalese) you could write to the publisher's head office in Germany, with a copy to their London office, stating that if they remain so manifestly unwilling to settle so obvious a breach of EC copyright legislation, you will, not later than 28 days from despatch of your letter, institute civil proceedings against them on the basis of (insert suitable legalese, as above), citing their London office as the defendant's address for the purposes of said action.

Worth a try?