Back to Print Rights
The term “Electronic rights” covers a basket of rights and multiplicity of products including

– verbatim text editions delivered through multiple platforms.
– non-verbatim multimedia products including interactive educational or entertainment CD-ROMs and DVDs, compilations, and online databases.

When signing off electronic rights to a publisher, it is essential to define precisely what the term electronic rights covers. As digital copyrights are still by force a legal field in infancy, the existing formulations are often too vague to properly define what is covered by electronic rights. The division above is crude but effective

Verbatim text editions delivered through multiple platforms: That is the part of electronic rights that covers the text of the literary work commercialized through some or all available digital support. When signing with an e-publisher, it is wise to ensure that all supports are exploited bye the publisher, lest the author grants rights that will not be exploited. As a rule though, epublishers expect an exclusive license on verbatim text electronic rights.

Non-verbatim multimedia products: This is the tricky part. Some of these multimedia products do not even exist yet in the head of inventors. So it is fair to assume that the publisher does not have the ability to exploit them. For example, if a book had been published 10 years ago granting exclusive electronic rights, it would have included the rights to an adaptation for an app on a touch tablet such as an iPad for example. This did not exist at the time, so the publisher actually purchased a blanket rights on things he might never be able to commercialize, simply because the technology is beyond his means. Yet, the author does not have the possibility of using the services of an app provider without express authorization from the publisher, who is entitled to refuse or require a share of the benefits, though he would effectively do nothing about it.
This is why it is essential to specifically define what electronic rights are covered by the contract. No-one knows which new gadget will appear in the near future, therefore there is no reason to grant any rights an as yet unborn technological use of a book.

The other aspects covered in Print Rights :

• duration of the contract,
• geographical area covered by the contract,
• exit clause

remain valid, except for the geographical side as, the Internet having no real border, the only relevant geographical area is Planet Earth. Though there might be a time when aliens will vie for our literature, bringing juicy checks to human authors, it is about the only practical geographical limitation, and so is probably irrelevant.
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