Resources for Rights Professionals
The BISG Rights Committee recommends these resources for their value to rights professionals. They include reports produced by the BISG Rights Committee, recommended books and blogs, supporting organizations, and directories. This list is a work in progress and we welcome suggestions; if you have other interests or learning needs that you would like the Rights Committee to consider for programming, let us know! Have a resource you love but don’t see it here? Fill out our suggestion form so we can add it.
BISG also features updates on rights in the book industry in our weekly newsletter, Making Information Pay. Subscribe to stay up-to-date on the latest BISG and book industry news!
Directories
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Find A Rightsholder
Find a Rightsholder is an easy-to-use search tool for anyone seeking rights or permissions for content published by US and UK publishers. -
Rights Solutions Providers
The first edition of BISG's Rights Service Providers Grid was released on September 8, 2017. It was the result of a rights vendor survey created by the BISG Rights Committee. The Rights Committee plans to complete an update of this document by 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Book Industry Study Group maintains a Rights FAQ dedicated to all things rights. This comprehensive list is especially useful to those professionals who are new to working with rights, but also has value for seasoned veterans who may need a refresher on specific terminology or best practices. The Rights FAQ is organized into four key sections:
Reports
Webinars & Educational Programming
The BISG Rights Committee has produced a robust collection of webinars and recorded programming on topics including copyright, royalties, translation, and more. You can see a complete list of all available content in the Rights topic of BISG’s Knowledge Center. If you’re interested in utilizing the content for education/training (for yourself or for colleagues who are new to the rights world), here are some ideas for learning about various aspects of rights:
Looking for an overview of rights and rights dealing in book publishing? Try these three webinars:
Why I Care About Rights
Rights Education Series #1 | September 24, 2021
In conversation with BISG Rights Committee Chair Kris Kliemann, long-time publishing veteran Richard Charkin provides a publisher's perspective on the importance of rights; for a different perspective, literary agent Pamela Malpas shares how everything agents do is related to rights.
How Do Rights Work?
Rights Education Series #2 | October 7, 2021
In this 30-minute session, Clare Hodder (RightsZone) covered the basics of rights transactions. Key points included what types of rights exist and are most often licensed and the typical "life cycle" of a deal - from acquisition of content through submitting and negotiating contracts for publication/re-publication. Examples of how activities after contract and publication can inform better deals in the future were also included.
How Do We Talk About Rights?
Rights Education Series #3 | November 18, 2021
In this 30-minute session, Tricia McCraney (Virtusales Publishing Solutions) provided an overview of the often confusing vocabulary used in rights transactions and rights management. Key takeaways include development of a common terminology—including the need for and benefits of developing a robust taxonomy for the rights business—and more.
Interested in learning more about permissions acquisition and licensing? Have a look at these two webinars:
What Do You Need to Know About Acquiring Permissions?
June 29, 2022 | What is the process for obtaining the right to use portions of copyrighted works in other forms? Why do rights holders ask certain questions of those who want to license materials? What factors go into determining a licensing fee and other terms of a permission license? Is there even a difference between permissions and licensing? In this session in the ongoing rights educational series, veteran rights manager Jeffery Corrick (Penguin Random House) provides answers to these and other questions.
Tracking Rights Usage - The Why and How
December 13, 2021 | This recording offers the details that explain why and how tracking content rights is an essential part of any company’s strategy for managing intellectual property. Ashima Aggarwal (John Wiley & Sons), Heather Cameron (Getty Images), and Paul Gore (FADEL) join moderator David Hetherington (knk Business Software) to explain why “awareness” matters and what that really means. The panel recommends programs, systems and strategies for mitigating risk, the importance of clarity around contractual rights, enforcement and licensing, and what is different in our post-pandemic world.
These are outside resources curated by the BISG Rights Committee as helpful to rights professionals.
Industry Essentials—If you’re new to publishing, start here!
Blogs & Newsletters
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Illusion of More
Offers in-depth commentary on digital rights, intellectual property law, and the evolving challenges faced by creators in the digital age. -
The RightsTech Extra newsletter
“The newsletter comes out Mondays and Fridays. The main RightsTech website posts an ongoing aggregation of rights related news from around the web.” —Paul Sweeting -
Velocity of Content Blog by CCC
Offers expert insights, educational resources, and practical tools on copyright licensing, permissions, and content reuse. -
Words and Money
A library-focused newsletter by Andrew Albanese and Erin Cox.
Books
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The Copyright War
Written by Peter Baldwin | “An overview of the distinction between the U.S. concept of copyright as contrasted with European models of authors’ rights”. —Pamela Malpas -
Getting Permission: Using & Licensing Copyright-Protected Materials Online & Off
Written by Richard Stim -
Guide to Rights Clearance & Permissions in Scholarly, Educational, and Trade Publishing
Written by Stephen E. Gillen -
How to Pitch a Book
Written by James Spackman
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Merchants of Culture
Written by John B. Thompson | “An overview of how publishing is changing in the 21st century.” —Pamela Malpas
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Selling Rights, 9th Edition
Written by Lynette Owen | “Covering the full range of potential rights, from English-language territorial rights through to serial rights, permissions, rights for the reading-impaired, translation rights, dramatization and documentary rights, electronic and multimedia rights, this book constitutes a comprehensive introduction and companion to the topic. Written from the perspective of UK rights holders/dealers—but highly relevant to the US as well.” –Kris Kliemann
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Clark's Publishing Agreements: A Book of Precedents
Edited by Lynette Owen | “The 'must have' legal resource for the publishing industry. This comprehensive book provides 25 model agreements, from author agreements to merchandising rights to online licensing to e-book distribution to text and data mining.” –Kris Kliemann
Courses & Training
Podcasts
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BookSmarts Podcast
“Not specifically focused on rights management, but generally informative.” —Pamela Malpas
Websites
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Deloitte International Tax Source
“Answers the question “What withholding tax % applies to my rights deal?.” —Clare Hodder
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Publishing Trends
“Publishing Trends is the home of many useful newsletters and tools: weekly ‘Top 5 Publishing Articles”, monthly round ups of people (and their career moves), monthly release of bestseller lists from around the world (great for rights research!), the contact sheets (especially for scouts)—see Who's Scouting Whom.” —Kris Kliemann
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Rights and Licensing Hub
PLS’s Rights and Licensing Hub is an initiative supported by Publishers' Licensing Services to share knowledge and encourage best practice in Rights and Licensing in all areas of the publishing industry and raise awareness of the importance of good rights management. Created by the PLS Rights Management Group.