BookBrunch Rights Software Report 2016 by BookBrunch

BOOKbrunch RIGHTS SOFT WARE REPORT 2016

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“BOOKBRUNCH UNDERTAKES A LONG OVERDUE EXPANSION IN OUR OFFERINGS TO SUBSCRIBERS AND COLLEAGUES IN THE PUBLISHING INDUSTRY”

A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

INTRODUCTION 5 6 7 8

A note from the Publisher A note from the Editor A note from the Business Developer A note from the Rights Expert

THE REPORT 9 10 14 16 20

Methodology Q&A with That’s Rights! Q&A with Bradbury Phillips Q&A with Ingenta Q&A with Klopotek & Partner GmbH 26 Q&A with Virtusales 29 Looking further afield 30 Improve your rights management, by Tom Holman

BookBrunch is known for its daily newsletter and news online. Many of you will also have picked up the show dailies we produce together with Publishers Weekly at the London and Frankfurt Book Fairs. Some may have been with us in Sharjah for the SIBF and seen our annual report. Last year we introduced preview magazines for the London, Beijing and Frankfurt book fairs as well as the American Library Association annual conference. If you have not seen these, they are all available online through our website. We shall be providing all of this and more as BookBrunch undertakes a long overdue expansion in our offerings to our subscribers and for our advertisers. We like to believe that we provide an impartial view of the news, reported with great integrity by our joint editors, Nicholas Clee and Neill Denny. Now we would like to offer you the first in what we believe will be a most useful series of reports for our readers. This is the first in the series, others will follow. We would of course welcome your ideas for future reports, but for this the first I would like to thank Jane Tappuni, our business development guru and Melanie Leggett for making this happen.

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Publisher: Tobias Steed Joint Editors: Nicholas Clee and Neill Denny Business Development: Jane Tappuni Production: Jasmin Kirkbride

To advertise with BookBrunch, please contact Jane Tappuni, at: Jane.Tappuni@BookBrunch.co.uk

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“PUBLISHERS ARE HAVING TO BECOME MORE EFFICIENT AT SWEATING THEIR ASSETS RIGHT ACROSS THEIR BUSINESSES TO STAY AFLOAT”

A NOTE FROM NEILL DENNY, JOINT EDITOR BOOKBRUNCH Rights, and managing rights, has always been important to publishers but it seems now to be more vital than ever. Why is this happening, and what are the implications of this? In a world where formats are multiplying having rights accurately defined is becoming critical. Hardback, paperback, digital and audio – then overlain with territories and languages and even a small publisher suddenly has a surprisingly large number of rights to manage. Failing to accurately manage and define these properties can be the difference between success or failure. Publishers are having to become more efficient at sweating their assets right across their businesses to stay afloat, from seeking larger savings on property, salaries and production costs to maximising income from rights, as well as non-traditional sources like writing courses and events.

It’s partly in recognition of this that we are seeing the acquisition of rights gradually becoming a more significant feature of the publishing landscape we report on. Few deals are now complete without the rights angle, and in any report of the signing of a debut writer, allocation of rights are always a feature. Agents are becoming increasingly aware that they are in a competitive market in which their brand and track record are important in attracting new writers and reassuring existing ones:- accordingly, they are more likely to want to have their successful deals publicised. We find that a greater proportion of our rights stories are now being initiated by the agent rather than the publisher, with the beneficial side-effect of course that we are reporting deals in general earlier in the publishing cycle.

PLEASE JOIN US AT THE FRANKFURT BOOK FAIR FOR A SPECIAL PANEL DISCUSSION: Know your rights: the benefits of effective, digital, IP management Digital Innovation Hot Spot (Hall 6.2) 9:30-10:30, Wednesday 19 October

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“THE REALITY OF BUYING AND SELLING RIGHTS IS THAT EACH DEAL WILL BE UNIQUE IN SOME WAY”

A NOTE FROM JANE TAPPUNI, BUSINESS DEVELOPER BOOKBRUNCH BookBrunch is committed to providing not just news and views, but information on all aspects of the industry to all our readers – including those aspects of the industry that are often overlooked but form a crucial part of keeping everything moving. We are therefore launching a new series of in depth publications featuring suppliers’ products to help inform buyers of their options, and to help link suppliers and buyers within the publishing industry. This first report examines some of the key options available for publishers when choosing which rights software to buy. A publishing house sets about choosing rights software with some degree of trepidation. How much work will it take to get it up and running? Will it really save time? How reliable will it be? How complex will it be to work with? Will it talk to existing in house systems? Will it be affordable? BookBrunch has therefore decided to ask rights software suppliers to answer a series of probing questions that we believe are of concern to publishers’ rights and contracts departments. Our innovative Q&A format ensures that the

information is informative and impartial, that the key aspects of each of the featured platforms is thoroughly discussed and that the report provides in-depth intelligence on what each system offers. The reality of buying and selling rights is that each deal will be unique in some way. There really is no such thing as ‘standard terms’, or a ‘standard contract’. Each publisher is a business and must achieve terms which will enable it to publish the title they are buying in accordance with their best practices. For this reason, a rights software system must be versatile and flexible whilst providing a robust and reliable repository for a publishing company’s rights information. It needs to provide excellent information to help a publisher achieve the best results when selling rights. The report will be available in both print and digital format via the BookBrunch website and at the Sharjah Book Fair, Beijing International Book Fair and Frankfurt Book Fair, as well as other local and regional trade events.

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“WHOEVER CONTROLS RIGHTS, IT IS CRUCIAL FOR THOSE RIGHTS TO BE PROPERLY MANAGED AND EXPLOITED TO MAXIMISE THE POTENTIAL OF A WORK”

A NOTE FROM THE RIGHTS EXPERT, MELANIE LEGGETT

When considering the acquisition of a new title, the most crucial information a publisher needs to make in its calculations is what rights are on the table for any given work. There is a direct correlation between those rights and the sum of money a publisher is willing to offer as an advance, as each individual right represents a potential revenue stream and thus a possible return on that investment. Generally, an agent will weigh up a publisher’s track record when deciding who should control what rights on a new title. If a publisher’s record is poor, fewer rights are likely to be granted, whilst a publisher with a good track record may persuade an agent to part with more rights. Then again, some rights may necessarily be granted to enable a book to get off the ground, for example highly illustrated books for which co-editions are imperative to amortise the initial set-up and print costs. Whoever controls rights, it is crucial for those rights to be properly managed and exploited to

Melanie Leggett has worked in publishing since 1983 and in rights and contracts since 1989. She has a law degree with first class honours and experience in packaging, adult fiction and non-fiction, academic, STM, co-editions and children’s publishing. Leggett started as an acquisitioning editor and proofreader before specialising in rights and contracts. 8

maximise the potential of a work for the copyright owner. Under-exploited rights are a sore point for everyone in publishing, as they are often considered missed opportunities. In this fast-moving world of international rights trading, it is imperative for both publishing houses and agencies to have robust, reliable and responsive rights management systems to help them keep abreast of all rights transactions and movements. Further, a good rights system should enable rights departments to report promptly and accurately both internally and externally about the status of individual works. I know from experience how challenging it is to introduce a rights management system: first, to select the right solution from the range of systems on offer and second, to dedicate the significant amount of time and effort needed to get the system up and running. The return for that effort, however, will be both measurable in terms of control, and immeasurable in terms of relationships both with the copyright holder and rights customers. She has worked with intellectual property matters including trademarks, patents and copyright with licensors and properties such as Disney, Mattell, Minecraft and Winnie the Pooh. Amongst other things, since leaving Egmont in 2015, Leggett has set up a specialist rights and contracts consultancy: Windrush Publishing Consultancy.

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METHODOLOGY: HOW OUR INFORMATION WAS COLLECTED

Companies that agreed to partake in our report were asked to provide answers to a series of questions by which we hope you may make comparisons and draw conclusions as to which rights software is right for your company. The report questions were as follows:

GENERAL • A short summary of your software and its USP’s? • Why should a rights department deploy contracts and rights software? • What is the ROI associated with implementing your software? • Is your software deployed in the cloud or is it installed? • Is your software for small, mid or large publishers?

CONTRACTS • Does the system generate contracts? • Once a template agreement is negotiated with a customer, can these be stored and retrieved for future deals? • Can correspondence be stored along with the deal or with the customer record?

• How does the system deal with one book with multiple head contracts and work with differences in rights granted? • Generating contracts for multiple titles, e.g. series? • If rights are held in the text but not the illustrations, it should not prevent a sale but flag up what else needs to be done before negotiations can proceed

KEY DATES, REMINDERS AND PROMPTS • Does the system diarise key dates and automatically generate reminders, e.g. expiry and renewal dates? • Blocking rights under option and releasing them after expiry of option?

REPORTING • What key reporting capability does your solution have?

PERMISSIONS • How does the system handle permissions?

“WHOEVER CONTROLS RIGHTS, IT IS CRUCIAL FOR THOSE RIGHTS TO BE PROPERLY MANAGED AND EXPLOITED TO MAXIMISE THE POTENTIAL OF A WORK FOR THE COPYRIGHT OWNER” www.bookbrunch.co.uk

Q&A: THAT’S RIGHTS! ALEX BLOOM, DIRECTOR JEUX DE COULEUR LTD +44 208 144 9197 ABLOOM@THATSRIGHTS.COM

A SUMMARY OF YOUR SOFTWARE AND ITS USP The main features of That’s Rights! and That’s Rights! For Agents: • Repository of title information and bibliographic data • Manages submissions to prospective rights buyers, keeps track of quotes and negotiations • Manages licence agreements, advances & fees, royalty statements and income; works with multiple currencies and exchange rates • Manages co-editions; includes co-edition forecasting and pricing tools • Maintains author contracts and royalty calculation rules; calculates author royalties due on activities and generates royalty statements • Comprehensive tracking and follow-up of submissions, licences (signatures, advances paid, renewals, etc.), rights sold, rights available, royalty statements and payments, tax certificates, and much more • Import/export from Microsoft Excel worksheets, Microsoft Access databases or other files • Generates tip sheets, quick catalogues of selected titles, and a wide range of reports • Generates invoices for licence fees and advances, royalty payments due, co-edition purchase orders, etc. • Multi-currency: invoices in any currency, record payments in any currency. Different exchange rates at time of invoice and on receipt of payment shows gains/losses from currency 10

fluctuations. • Automatically generates commercial invoices for accompanying overseas shipments of samples Our solutions are used at over 400 sites in 19 countries: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Serbia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, the UK and the US. A key factor in the popularity of our solutions is pricing: our software can be acquired for a one-off licence fee, and that includes lifetime email support and three online training sessions. Data migration services are also available for an extra fee. For a single-person agency a licence for That’s Rights! Agents would cost as little as £900. Our most expensive configuration would be a site licence for That’s Rights! for Rights Sellers (unlimited users, suitable for a large rights department) and would cost £9,500. • That’s Rights! can be installed on any PC running Windows 7 or higher in only a few minutes. No special training is required. The system can be installed for a single user, or multiple users sharing a single database. We also offer a hosted service on a remote windows desktop platform.

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GENERAL WHY SHOULD A RIGHTS DEPARTMENT DEPLOY CONTRACTS AND RIGHTS SOFTWARE? To increase the efficiency of prospecting/marketing and to maximize licence revenues. WHAT IS THE ROI ON IMPLEMENTING YOUR SOFTWARE? 100% or higher. IS YOUR SOFTWARE DEPLOYED IN THE CLOUD OR IS IT INSTALLED? Our solutions are available in two versions: local and remote access (hosted). IS YOUR SOFTWARE FOR SMALL, MID OR LARGE PUBLISHERS? Our rights solutions are used by the rights departments of medium to large publishers (Abrams, Workman in the US, Working Partners, Little Tiger Press in the UK, Nathan, Ecole des Loisirs in France, Cornelsen in Germany) but they are equally popular with smaller businesses (Freemantle in Australia, Sweet Cherry in the UK, Atalante in France, Kreativni Centar in Serbia.)

CONTRACTS DOES THE SYSTEM GENERATE CONTRACTS? Yes. That’s Rights! creates contract documents in Microsoft Word by merging data with user-defined Word templates. ONCE A TEMPLATE AGREEMENT IS NEGOTIATED WITH A CUSTOMER, CAN THESE BE STORED AND RETRIEVED FOR FUTURE DEALS?

The system can use unlimited templates for contracts, purchase orders, invoices, reminders. Those can be associated with particular clients and be retrieved once the terms are agreed. Contracts and templates are stored externally and linked to the software. CAN CORRESPONDENCE BE STORED ALONG WITH THE DEAL OR WITH THE CUSTOMER RECORD? Yes. The system stores unlimited notes, and links to attachments (e.g. scanned documents, etc.) within a customer’s details, or within the details for a licence or a submission. HOW DOES THE SYSTEM DEAL WITH ONE BOOK WITH MULTIPLE HEAD CONTRACTS AND WORK WITH DIFFERENCES IN RIGHTS GRANTED? It is completely flexible. The system allows for unlimited multiple authors and/or beneficiaries on any title. Each beneficiary can have an independent, individualised royalty contract which determines the royalties earned on any rights granted. AND GENERATING CONTRACTS FOR MULTIPLE TITLES, E.G. SERIES? Titles can be collected within a series. Licensing can be at the series level, or at the individual title level (even if a title is part of a series). Alternatively, licences can include multiple titles, even if they are not part of one or the same series. IF RIGHTS ARE HELD IN THE TEXT BUT NOT THE ILLUSTRATIONS, IT SHOULD NOT PREVENT A SALE BUT FLAG UP WHAT ELSE NEEDS TO BE DONE BEFORE NEGOTIATIONS CAN PROCEED? Yes.

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“OUR SOLUTIONS ARE USED AT OVER 400 SITES IN 19 COUNTRIES”

KEY DATES, REMINDERS AND PROMPTS DOES THE SYSTEM DIARISE KEY DATES AND AUTOMATICALLY GENERATE REMINDERS, E.G. EXPIRY AND RENEWAL DATES? Yes. BLOCKING RIGHTS UNDER OPTION AND RELEASING THEM AFTER EXPIRY OF OPTION? Yes.

REPORTING WHAT KEY REPORTING CAPABILITY DOES YOUR SOLUTION HAVE? The system produces over 50 highly customisable reports and documents. It also produces AI sheets, quick rights catalogues as well as note sheets for trade fair meetings.

PERMISSIONS HOW DOES THE SYSTEM HANDLE PERMISSIONS? Permissions are available as an add-on module. Permissions are granted at the level of the title component. Components are created on an asneeded basis, as permission requests are processed. All permission attributes are recorded (user, use type, fees – if any, etc.). Permission income flows through to beneficiary royalties as well.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION info@thatsrights.com 30-day free trial. Download at: http://thatsrights.com/download/index.htm 12

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Q&A: BRADBURY PHILLIPS ANNE PHILLIPS +44 (0)20 3340 3913 ANNE@BRADBURYPHILLIPS.CO.UK WWW.BRADBURYPHILLIPS.CO.UK

A SUMMARY OF YOUR SOFTWARE AND ITS USP For the past 30 years we’ve provided Rights Management software for publishers and literary agents around the world. Our USP is that our software is written from the point of view of the Rights Manager not as an adjunct to a piece of accounting software. It has been developed by us receiving feedback from our many users. We think it is very intuitive to use. You are able to easily interrogate the System and find out where, what and

when titles have been sold, or where authors works have been sold or what has been sold to purchasers. The same applies to interest and submissions. You are also able to analyse the information so that you can find the best selling author, best selling title, which territories a title has been sold or not sold in, etc. You are able, easily to search the system by many criteria and generate ad hoc spreadsheets for the resulting data.

GENERAL

CONTRACTS

WHY SHOULD A RIGHTS DEPARTMENT DEPLOY CONTRACTS AND RIGHTS SOFTWARE? When it gets to the stage that if anyone in the department becomes indisposed, it’s important to be able, easily to have a record of deals and to be able to continue work with the minimum of fuss.

DOES THE SYTEM GENERATE CONTRACTS? You can export the details of a contract to Excel or Word and then use Mail merge to merge the information into your relevant standard contract.

WHAT IS THE ROI ON IMPLEMENTING YOUR SOFTWARE? Probably about ½ person’s time. IS YOUR SOFTWARE DEPLOYED IN THE CLOUD OR IS IT INSTALLED? Both. IS YOUR SFOTWARE FOR SMALL, MID OR LARGE PUBLISHERS? It’s used by small, medium and large publishers.

ONCE A TEMPLATE AGREEMENT IS NEGOTIATED WITH A CUSTOMER, CAN THESE BE STORED AND RETRIEVED FOR FUTURE DEALS? Yes details are held either on the submission record or the contract record and you are able to chase on this. E.g. Sent to author, unsigned contracts etc. CAN CORRESPONDENCE BE STORED ALONG WITH THE DEAL OR WITH THE CUSTOMER RECORD? On each of our files e.g. authors, titles, purchaser, submissions & interest and contracts, we have a

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documents section where you can attach pdfs, word docs, excel spreadsheets, jpgs etc. as well links to websites. HOW DOES THE SYSTEM DEAL WITH ONE BOOK WITH MULTIPLE HEAD CONTRACTS AND WORK WITH DIFFERENCES IN RIGHTS GRANTED? Our Titles File holds the details of the head contract made with the Publisher. Usually you would hold only one version of a Title. However, if you have head contracts for the title for different formats which have different rights available, you can enter the different versions of the title on the Titles File. Every time a right is sold, a contract for the sale of the title is entered into the Contracts File. You are able to search the Contracts File by Purchaser, Title, Author, Proprietor, Territory, Rights, Language etc. Our Data Analysis will show you where you have and have not sold the Right for the Title. A contract can have an unlimited number of titles associated with it. GENERATING CONTRACTS FOR MULTIPLE TITLES, E.G. SERIES? Yes once you have created a series of titles you can create a contract for the whole series. IF RIGHTS ARE HELD IN THE TEXT BUT NOT THE ILLUSTRATIONS, IT SHOULD NOT PREVENT A SALE BUT FLAG UP WHAT ELSE NEEDS TO BE DONE BEFORE NEGOTIATIONS CAN PROCEED. The Titles File holds details of the Rights you do and don’t hold. We have alerts that will be displayed if there are any restrictions on selling the right.

KEY DATES, REMINDERS AND PROMPTS DOES THE SYSTEM DIARISE KEY DATES AND AUTOMATICALLY GENERATE REMINDERS, E.G. EXPIRY AND RENEWAL DATES? Yes. You can see yours or everyones’ overdue submissions, publication dates, reversion dates and overdue advances and payments when you log into the System. You are also easily able to see this information by searching the database or by report. BLOCKING RIGHTS UNDER OPTION AND RELEASING THEM AFTER EXPIRY OF OPTION? Doesn’t block but will warn you.

REPORTING WHAT KEY REPORTING CAPABILITY DOES YOUR SOLUTION HAVE? All aspects of submissions, interest, contracts, deal memo, chasing for monies, monies received, overdue royalties, expiry of licences etc. All reports are to paper, PDF, Word or Excel.

PERMISSIONS HOW DOES THE SYSTEM HANDLE PERMISSIONS? Our software handles the sale of permissions. Works in a very similar way to the Rights contracts. I.e. you can enter details, produce an invoice and chase on overdue monies and report on monies received.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Our Rights and Account Management system is widely used by literary agents.

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Q&A: INGENTA FLORIN CRACIUN, HEAD OF SALES +44 (0)1865 397834 FLORIN.CRACIUN@INGENTA.COM WWW.INGENTA.COM

A SUMMARY OF YOUR SOFTWARE AND ITS USP Ingenta’s Rights management software provides publishers and content providers with accurate and timely data about which rights they own and the extent to which they are being exploited. The system alerts users to expiring rights so organisations can forecast cash flows and identify opportunities for new deals. The solution is underpinned by the ability to effectively manage associated contracts at a granular level. Ingenta’s Rights application is complemented by its Royalties management software which enables publishers to

calculate complex royalties quickly, easily and with confidence. Publishers can licence each application individually, alongside existing solutions, or combine them in one powerful product.

GENERAL

Previous practices for retaining information, such as paper files or even the institutional knowledge of the members of the rights department, are no longer efficient or effective in keeping track of all rights controlled, leaving the door open for potential rights conflicts and mismanagement. In order to avoid potentially costly disputes and to fully understand what opportunities are available, we recommend a rights portfolio audit be carried out to clarify a publisher’s assets, identifying what they have rights to, while also exploring the contexts in which they have those rights, and how they can exploit them.

WHY SHOULD A RIGHTS DEPARTMENT DEPLOY CONTRACTS AND RIGHTS SOFTWARE? In the past, rights sales were mostly in print to foreign publishers and a very small portion of a company’s overall revenue which went directly to the bottom line and, thus, not factored into the profit and loss statement. Now, with the proliferation of rights opportunities – types, channels, translation, format, fragmentation – publishers are leaving money on the table by not taking advantage of these prospects. In order to capitalise on this area, publishers require a rights system.

Our solution enables publishers and content providers to sell more pro-actively and licence more creatively, increasing awareness of opportunities in order to get the most out of assets while ensuring they fulfil contractual obligations and minimise operating expenses in the process.

In addition, if a publisher has licenced their brand to a third-party, a rights system will help keep a

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publisher up to date on payment and alert them to upcoming dates when rights are about to revert back to them or to another party. WHAT IS THE ROI ON IMPLEMENTING YOUR SOFTWARE? There are a lot of financial possibilities that come with monetizing existing content. It is very important that publishers have a full understanding of their rights inventory: what rights they own, what they don’t own, what rights they’ve exploited, what they haven’t, and under what terms can you exploit those rights. Publishers need to start to think of their content catalogue as a series of fragments that can be repurposed: reclaim, reuse, recycle. Our system helps publishers to move beyond rights management to proactive marketing and selling of assets. It enables users to work out quickly which categories of rights have the best potential, and respond cohesively to opportunities for even the most granular fragments of works. IS YOUR SOFTWARE DEPLOYED IN THE CLOUD OR IS IT INSTALLED? The software is available via the cloud or as an on premises installation. IS YOUR SOFTWARE FOR SMALL, MID OR LARGE PUBLISHERS? The software can scale up or down to accommodate the needs and capabilities of small, medium or large publishers.

CONTRACTS DOES THE SYSTEM GENERATE CONTRACTS? The system can generate long form contracts, short form contracts, deal memos, and other artefacts related to the negotiation/contract process. ONCE A TEMPLATE AGREEMENT IS NEGOTIATED WITH A CUSTOMER, CAN THESE BE STORED AND RETRIEVED FOR FUTURE DEALS? Contractual documents that are generated by the system or elsewhere can be digitally stored in the system for future retrieval. The system can also link to network/document repositories. CAN CORRESPONDENCE BE STORED ALONG WITH THE DEAL OR WITH THE CUSTOMER RECORD? System generated correspondence is automatically stored with the deal and/or customer record. Externally generated correspondence can be stored as well. HOW DOES THE SYSTEM DEAL WITH ONE BOOK WITH MULTIPLE HEAD CONTRACTS AND WORK WITH DIFFERENCES IN RIGHTS GRANTED? There is a contract specific relationship between each combination of head contract, work/ product(s), participant(s) which allows a different rights profile to be assigned by contract. GENERATING CONTRACTS FOR MULTIPLE TITLES, E.G. SERIES? The system has templating and cloning features that allow multiple similar contracts, or multiple

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“THERE ARE A LOT OF FINANCIAL OPPORTUNITIES THAT COME FROM MONETIZING EXISTING CONTENT”

redundant terms/titles/etc. within a given contract to be created without repetitive data entry tasks. IF RIGHTS ARE HELD IN THE TEXT BUT NOT THE ILLUSTRATIONS, IT SHOULD NOT PREVENT A SALE BUT FLAG UP WHAT ELSE NEEDS TO BE DONE BEFORE NEGOTIATIONS CAN PROCEED. The rights compliance/collisions are automatically monitored by the system. Where a conflict is identified, a visual queue is presented to the user that identifies both the existence behind, and reason for the conflict. The system can be configured to either warn the user(s) or prevent further progress.

KEY DATES, REMINDERS AND PROMPTS DOES THE SYSTEM DIARISE KEY DATES AND AUTOMATICALLY GENERATE REMINDERS, E.G. EXPIRY AND RENEWAL DATES? The system captures key dates and has both dashboard and alerting systems that provide push notifications to users. There is also a task management/workflow engine that can trigger actions instigated by dates and/or milestones.

REPORTING WHAT KEY REPORTING CAPABILITY DOES YOUR SOLUTION HAVE? The system has a built in query/reporting engine that allows on demand queries and reports to be created, scheduled, and distributed. The application can also support the use of 3rd party reporting tools such as Crystal Reports, MS Reporting Services, etc.

PERMISSIONS HOW DOES THE SYSTEM HANDLE PERMISSIONS? Permissions are handled as a specific set of “rights types”. As is the case with traditional rights in the system, permission and their associated terms and conditions can be assigned to any IP defined to the system, and subsequently tracked, sold (granted), and managed.

BLOCKING RIGHTS UNDER OPTION AND RELEASING THEM AFTER EXPIRY OF OPTION? By default rights optioned on an exclusive basis are blocked, and remain so until such time that the option expires or is otherwise terminated.

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Turn Your Content On. 7 of the top 10 global publishers use our systems to help manage their IP. Get in touch or meet with us at Frankfurt Book Fair to find out why.

info@ingenta.com ingenta.com #FBM16 4.2 / L35 www.bookbrunch.co.uk

Q&A: KLOPOTEK JOHN LAWSON, DIRECTOR 4TH FLOOR, BOWMAN HOUSE, 29 WILSON ST, LONDON EC2M 2SJ +44 (0)20 3034 0501 +44 (0)7947 364 146 WWW.KLOPOTEK.CO.UK

A SUMMARY OF YOUR SOFTWARE AND ITS USP Klopotek’s main features are: • Klopotek software supports the entire value chain for print, digital and online publishing. • Unlike customized versions of generic ERP solutions, Klopotek software is specifically designed for the publishing and media industries: It has been built to meet the unique needs of these industries and combines detailed and specialist knowledge of these areas with modern technology. • Klopotek software is based on publishing industry best practices developed from years of experience analyzing business processes and cooperating with publishers. • As a service provider, Klopotek advises companies on strategies to optimize their workflows. • Our customers are located worldwide and so is the Klopotek group, with offices in Amsterdam, Berlin, Glasgow, London, Milan, Munich, Paris, and Parsippany (NJ, USA). Our 175+ staff come from 18 nations around the globe and speak 24 languages, and many of them have extensive experience in the publishing industry. • With Klopotek Contracts, Rights & Royalties (CR&R), you can manage all your contracts, royalties and rights activity (both selling and buying) for books, e-books, journals, articles, audio books, tracks and apps in a single

•

integrated system. Royalty payments are made in accordance with international standards. Contract management with Klopotek provides a complete inventory of rights. The synchronization between contracts and royalty calculation drastically reduces the risk of incorrect statements. The Klopotek Rights module integrates all aspects of rights management: rights acquisition, portfolio of valid contracts and rights available as well as the complete rights sales history. In our experience, introducing the Klopotek Rights module quickly results in a significant rise in revenues from subsidiary rights. This is because Klopotek provides a tool to submit, manage, and monitor claims for unpaid royalties and/or unsettled accounts. In the long run, these optimized rights management processes enable rights managers to create high quality offers and to have all information at their fingertips during the negotiation processes. Klopotek contributes to the success of more than 350 publishers with more than 4,400 imprints, with over 14,000 users, in 140+ locations. In 2015, the Klopotek software was used to process invoices or royalties totalling approximately 4.6 billion Euros net. Our software supports a total of around 4.4 million products around the world.

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GENERAL WHY SHOULD A RIGHTS DEPARTMENT DEPLOY CONTRACTS AND RIGHTS SOFTWARE? Relevance of contract software Intellectual property, or content, is the life blood of any publisher and cohesive contract management linked into the business of rights and royalty negotiations is fundamental in securing the rights to content and in then dealing with the suppliers of that content in a fair and equitable way; providing quality service to those who supply intellectual property is often the key in being able to work with those that create the most value. As new business models create a growing complexity in this area, driven by the digitization of the entire publishing value chain, major revisions in contractual agreements and the sub-sequent processing of rights sales and royalty calculations have been evolving. There is also a need for improved relationship management with authors, driven by the greater independence that authors have today; they have many more opportunities and ways to publish and sell their content and this necessitates better tools to ensure the authors receive adequate attention and information about how their works are published and the value that represents. The only way to efficiently handle the increased workload, along with the quality of information needed, without increasing staff resources is to

provide powerful tools. These tools can provide real-time availability of all contractual and authorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; information and automated features for contract negotiation and creation. Tracking all steps of the draft, authorization and final versions is essential for better, faster and more complete agreements. Relevance of rights software Many publishers lose money because their software is neither up-to-date nor sufficient to cover all aspects of rights sales. In some cases, these considerable losses in revenue also have a negative effect on author relationships. The Klopotek solution can assist in streamlining processes in rights management. Publishers often cannot monetize the full value of their assets because not enough is known about the rights to those assets in the time when this is most needed or the need for extending the rights to or securing the correct rights for taking advantage of new business models is too onerous. Klopotek automates the creation of rights that can be sold from the signing of the head agreement. As soon as the head agreement is signed, available rights are shared centrally to all who need the information and also feed directly to the rights marketing system and web portals to start the process of securing rights sales as the publishing process of the main content begins. This leads to the ability to leverage the value of any publishing programme very efficiently and allows the ability to support new business models and get to market in much reduced lead-times.

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“MANY PUBLISHERS LOSE MONEY BECAUSE THEIR SOFTWARE IS NEITHER UP-TO-DATE NOR SUFFICIENT TO COVER ALL ASPECTS OF RIGHTS SALES”

The Klopotek rights solutions provide extremely rich information on the rights that are managed from contract terms, licence periods, territory, exclusivity and more. WHAT IS THE ROI ON IMPLEMENTING YOUR SOFTWARE? Many publishers lose money because their software is neither up-to-date nor sufficient to cover all aspects of rights sales. In some cases, these considerable losses in revenue also have a negative effect on author relationships. The Klopotek solution can assist in streamlining processes in rights management. Publishers often cannot monetize the full value of their assets because not enough is known about the rights to those assets in the time when this is most needed or the need for extending the rights to or securing the correct rights for taking advantage of new business models is too onerous. IS YOUR SOFTWARE DEPLOYED IN THE CLOUD OR IS IT INSTALLED? Klopotek software is available in-house, as a hosted software solution, and ‘as a service’. IS YOUR SOFTWARE FOR SMALL, MID OR LARGE PUBLISHERS? Klopotek software is suitable for both small and mid-sized publishers as well as large international groups.

CONTRACTS DOES THE SYSTEM GENERATE CONTRACTS? Automatic creation of contract documents and storage is done via the Digital Asset Management (DAM) system (provided by Klopotek). 22

Editing the various contract drafts and the final contract documents incorporates Microsoft Word® functionality. The Klopotek add-in ‘Contract Editing’ makes the word-processing programme a publishing specific contract creator. This add-in allows for pulling all contract database fields into individual templates. XML export and XLS style sheet technology provide all options for a publisher-specific contract layout while using the comfort of the leading wordprocessor. With every opening or printing of a document all database fields get refreshed and thus are always up-to-date. Once the contract is signed, the data will be frozen. The risk of multiple versions of the contracts, incorrect royalty calculations and re-keying the contracts for royalty calculation is effectively eliminated by this synchronization functionality. ONCE A TEMPLATE AGREEMENT IS NEGOTIATED WITH A CUSTOMER, CAN THESE BE STORED AND RETRIEVED FOR FUTURE DEALS? Yes. CAN CORRESPONDENCE BE STORED ALONG WITH THE DEAL OR WITH THE CUSTOMER RECORD? Scans of the signed contract and all correspondence relevant to the agreement are available with a simple mouse click on the archive button. Addendums to negotiations and changes to the original terms are fully tracked by the system from the very beginning all the way through to the final authorized document.

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“INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, OR CONTENT, IS THE LIFE BLOOD OF ANY PUBLISHER”

HOW DOES THE SYSTEM DEAL WITH ONE BOOK WITH MULTIPLE HEAD CONTRACTS AND WORK WITH DIFFERENCES IN RIGHTS GRANTED? Each variation from the general rules of the contract can be created as a separate contract unit allowing different splits for advances, royalties and subrights splits per author. A different scope of agreed rights can be agreed for future use, even when there is no exact definition at the time of signature of a contract. By adding ‘to be agreed’ or ‘to be negotiated’ to certain contract rules, all eventualities of future forms of publication, territories or distribution channels can be covered. The author specific tax and VAT rules are also stored in their master data and are automatically applied by all payment procedures. The split between the contract partners can be separately defined for advances, royalties and subrights revenues. GENERATING CONTRACTS FOR MULTIPLE TITLES, E.G. SERIES? Klopotek supports multi-book contracts and contracts with multiple royalty recipients. The Klopotek contract tool provides all the required functionality to set up the structures for manyauthors-many-titles-many-contracts (with many agents if required) with the flexibility that is necessary for such complex agreements. IF RIGHTS ARE HELD IN THE TEXT BUT NOT THE ILLUSTRATIONS, IT SHOULD NOT PREVENT A SALE BUT FLAG UP WHAT ELSE NEEDS TO BE DONE BEFORE NEGOTIATIONS CAN PROCEED.

A key element for enabling safe and reliable process automation is online availability of key process and contract information for all titles. Klopotek software supports selling rights by providing online functionality to check and review the availability of rights. A system of rules is provided to automatically check and ensure that only those rights can be sold that are owned by the publisher – and that have not already been sold. The Klopotek software displays the rules and obligations specified in the contract so there is no need to check the original rights acquisition contracts.

KEY DATES, REMINDERS AND PROMPTS DOES THE SYSTEM DIARISE KEY DATES AND AUTOMATICALLY GENERATE REMINDERS, E.G. EXPIRY AND RENEWAL DATES? The authorization of the contract value and the more refined royalty rules is maintained by workflow management. Klopotek helps you to ensure the proper approvals and signatures by all responsible parties. Contract duration, bound to a validity period, can be set up either by defined specific date or by dependence of the expiry to months or years after signature or publication. Rights reversal rules depending on stock level or sales value can be tracked by the system and help you to maintain up to date assets records. BLOCKING RIGHTS UNDER OPTION AND RELEASING THEM AFTER EXPIRY OF OPTION?

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“BY ADDING ‘TO BE AGREED’ OR ‘TO BE NEGOTIATED’ TO CERTAIN CONTRACT RULES, ALL EVENTUALITIES CAN BE COVERED”

The Klopotek system supports options, embargo periods, and time limits – each specified by country, area, distribution channel, and product type.

REPORTING WHAT KEY REPORTING CAPABILITY DOES YOUR SOLUTION HAVE? There is a specific product: ‘Klopotek Analytics’. Klopotek Analytics is a comprehensive reporting and analytics solution that specifically addresses the reporting and business intelligence needs of publishers. It is available in two versions: • Klopotek Analytics Advanced: real-time interactive reporting, ad-hoc reporting, scheduling and report distribution • Klopotek Analytics Premium: Business Intelligence suite containing real-time reporting, slice and dice analytics, chart and graph visualizations, dashboard design and data integration capabilities

• • • • • •

Excel®, CSV) Report scheduling and distribution Support for SQL (Oracle / SQL Server) / NoSQL (MarkLogic) and other popular databases Data warehouse and real-time ETL capabilities Analytics security and content permissions Single sign-on across all Klopotek products Low cost subscription pricing plans

PERMISSIONS HOW DOES THE SYSTEM HANDLE PERMISSIONS? Klopotek CR&R handles permissions efficiently and in addition there is a specific Web App ‘Permissions and Compliance Manager’ (which runs on the cloud-based platform Klopotek STREAM).

Key features and benefits of Klopotek Analytics:

There are several aspects to permissions processes in the publishing lifecycle and these are changing due to developments in the market: the selling of physical books and journals shifts to content in various forms, including combinations of products. Due to this shift from analogue to digital, the number of partners producing content to cohesively deliver an outstanding experience to the reader is drastically increasing.

• User-friendly real-time reporting • Business intelligence – interactive analysis and visualization • Responsive dashboards with key performance indicators and graphics • Export in popular formats (HTML, PDF,

Among many other elements, publishers and information providers use content like images, illustrations, charts, texts, fonts but also audio and video files which require contractual permission from a third party to use this content. The acquired permissions must be compliant with the publishing

The solution is built on Pentaho, a leading business intelligence and data integration platform from Hitachi.

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“THERE ARE SEVERAL ASPECTS TO PERMISSIONS PROCESSES AND THESE ARE CHANGING DUE TO DEVELOPMENTS IN THE MARKET“

Thinking Rights & Contracts, Permissions & Royalties: get it all sorted with Klopotek

programmes and products they are to be used for in terms of rights. Klopotek, therefore provides an integrated solution that allows the system to handle the securing the rights to utilize content, images and media in publication and provides integrated compliance checking both pre and post publication. The system automatically checks that the rights remain current and within compliance as the planning phase runs and then as the product is in its lifecycle. With the Permissions and Compliance Manager you control and manage the multitude of complex specifications and licensing agreements involved in the acquisition and licensing of content assets via a flexible, dynamic user interface. By utilizing a MarkLogic database platform, the Permissions and Compliance Manager enables you to manage every aspect of metadata necessary to acquire licences, to track their use, and to manage compliance. The solution helps you to reduce expenses, compliance risks, and vendor costs, while increasing the quality and value of your content. The Permissions and Compliance Manager can be enhanced as needed for new business models and offers a streamlined workflow enabling international teams to conceptualize, acquire, licence, and track any asset, wherever and however it is used in your publishing enterprise.

Klopotek Contracts, Rights & Royalties (CR&R) Manage all your contracts, royalties and rights activity (both selling and buying) in a single integrated system. Klopotek CR&R is the industry’s preferred software solution: 600,000 authors and 1.6 million contracts and 25,000,000 royalty rules are handled using Klopotek CR&R worldwide. Contract Workflow Manager Create and manage contract documents with ease and ensure the transparency and manageability of the signature process Rights Sales Manager Optimise your rights sales business through immediate visibility of key data, including offer tracking Permissions and Compliance Manager Track and manage the acquisition and usage of licenses to ensure compliance, so you can exploit your rights with confidence

Klopotek UK Contact: John Lawson, J.Lawson@klopotek.co.uk 29 Wilson Street www.bookbrunch.co.uk 25 London, EC2M 2SJ www.klopotek.co.uk

Q&A: VIRTUSALES KAT COVEYDUCK 3RD FLOOR, SHERIDAN HOUSE, 112-116 WESTERN RD, BRIGHTON & HOVE BN3 1DD +44 (0)1273 917373 KAT.COVEYDUCK@VIRTUSALES.COM WWW.VIRTUSALES.COM

A SUMMARY OF YOUR SOFTWARE AND ITS USP Virtusales’ Rights module is available as part of the Biblio3 publishing system and its cloud version BiblioLIVE. It is fully integrated with other areas of the system including Title Management, Production, Royalties and Digital Asset Management providing a complete suite of software enabling publishers to efficiently manage their rights operations and increase profitability by utilising their acquired rights. Extremely flexible and highly configurable, the system supports academic and trade publishers with the advancement of digital technologies

GENERAL WHY SHOULD A RIGHTS DEPARTMENT DEPLOY CONTRACTS AND RIGHTS SOFTWARE? There are at least five ways that rights management software can help add value to a publisher’s rights operations: 1. Identify and aid future sales opportunities with a centralised and coordinated system for recording submissions of interest and rights sales 2. Save time managing acquired rights and processing rights sales including; generating contracts, logging payment terms, invoicing and creating rights catalogues 26

and commercial models that are emerging in the rapidly changing publishing landscape. Virtusales’ Rights module is a comprehensive solution for managing submissions of interest, advances, contracts, subsidiary rights income and third-party permissions for any type of product whether physical or digital. Fully integrated, realtime reports offer chasing overdue submissions, income due, overdue royalty statements, due contract dates and reversions, projected incomes and other reports for financial analysis.

3. Increase profitability by strengthening negotiation position with authors, contributors and agents 4. Maximise rights revenue with automated payment tracking, chasing and notification of expiry so rights can be renewed or resold 5. Aid the selling and approval process with an integrated asset management system to give clients access to download assets safely and securely WHAT IS THE ROI ON IMPLEMENTING YOUR SOFTWARE? Publishers have reported increased revenue from previously unsold or expired rights. Customers have also experienced significant time savings including 60% less time spent chasing contractual and rights

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information and 80% less time spent preparing rights guides. IS YOUR SOFTWARE DEPLOYED IN THE CLOUD OR IS IT INSTALLED? Both options are available. IS YOUR SOFTWARE FOR SMALL, MID OR LARGE PUBLISHERS? Biblio3 and BiblioLIVE are fully scalable and designed to meet the needs of any size publisher. Our smallest customer has three users and our largest has over 1,500.

CONTRACTS DOES THE SYSTEM GENERATE CONTRACTS? Yes. It is possible to hold as many contract templates as needed for contract generation. ONCE A TEMPLATE AGREEMENT IS NEGOTIATED WITH A CUSTOMER, CAN THESE BE STORED AND RETRIEVED FOR FUTURE DEALS? Yes, the signed document can be stored against the contract. CAN CORRESPONDENCE BE STORED ALONG WITH THE DEAL OR WITH THE CUSTOMER RECORD? Yes, any file type can be uploaded against a contract, deal or customer including audio recordings of phone calls and emails. Notes fields are also available. HOW DOES THE SYSTEM DEAL WITH ONE BOOK WITH MULTIPLE HEAD CONTRACTS AND WORK WITH DIFFERENCES IN RIGHTS GRANTED? Multiple Head Contracts can be held against a

single book, each with their own individual terms defining contributing parties, contributor splits and acquired rights work. Each contract can be stored as a different type and can be associated with the appropriate elements of the title. Contracts define the contributing parties, contributor split and acquired rights. GENERATING CONTRACTS FOR MULTIPLE TITLES, E.G. SERIES? Yes, contracts can include multiple titles, contributors and territories. IF RIGHTS ARE HELD IN THE TEXT BUT NOT THE ILLUSTRATIONS, IT SHOULD NOT PREVENT A SALE BUT FLAG UP WHAT ELSE NEEDS TO BE DONE BEFORE NEGOTIATIONS CAN PROCEED. Additional notes and checks can be recorded against individual subrights. These do not prevent a sale but will alert users when they try to sell.

KEY DATES, REMINDERS AND PROMPTS DOES THE SYSTEM DIARISE KEY DATES AND AUTOMATICALLY GENERATE REMINDERS, E.G. EXPIRY AND RENEWAL DATES? Yes, reminders can be delivered to usersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; email inboxes notifying them of expiry dates and enabling them to track milestones, etc. BLOCKING RIGHTS UNDER OPTION AND RELEASING THEM AFTER EXPIRY OF OPTION? Yes, exclusive options can be marked with an expiry date, which can be automatically chased via email. Preferential lists of customers allow for automatic transfer of options after expiry.

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Are you making the most of your IP?

“PUBLISHERS HAVE REPORTED INCREASED REVENUE FROM PREVIOUSLY UNSOLD OR EXPIRED RIGHTS”

End-to-end management for submissions, contracts, rights and royalties with fully integrated digital asset management

CONTRAC T S

REPORTING

RIG

Acquire S HT

WHAT KEY REPORTING CAPABILITY DOES YOUR SOLUTION HAVE? Biblio3 and BiblioLIVE rights provides a comprehensive, integrated suite of pre-configured reports and allows users to build their own bespoke, real-time reports, which can be saved privately or publicly for future use.

• Generate • Approve • Manage

Sell

Reports can be scheduled to run automatically at regular intervals and can be delivered to email addresses and FTP sites.

ROYA LT

Process

S IE

• Record • Market • Track • Chase

Reports can include Territories, Rights, Languages, Formats Available / Sold by Title, Earnings by Territory, Rights, Best Selling Contracts by Title, Author, Publisher, Sub-Agent, Subrights Sold, Subrights Not Yet Sold, Submissions Report, Subrights Sold Payments due and overdue and Subrights Schedule.

• Aggregate • Calculate • Reconcile • Report

• Maximise rights revenue

PERMISSIONS

• Strengthen your negotiation position

HOW DOES THE SYSTEM HANDLE PERMISSIONS? Permission requests can be stored within Biblio3 and BiblioLIVE’s rights module along with the type of permission request and details of who made the request.

• Identify and aid future sales opportunities • Save time and increase efficiency

Visit us at Frankfurt Book Fair Hall 4.0, stand F10 (arvato’s stand)

Payment tracking and configurable real-time reports are also available. Reports list permission requests within a specific time period, from an individual customer or for a specific title, etc.

• Virtusales is developing the future of publishing • 28www.virtusales.com | info@virtusales.com

UK | North America | Australia and New Zealand

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LOOKING FURTHER AFIELD: MORE RIGHTS SOFTWARE COMPANIES

Bradbury Phillips, Ingenta, Klopotek, Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Rights! and Virtusales are not the only software companies providing the services discussed in this report. BookBrunch approached others, among them:

14-16 MARCH 2017

Acumen Books Advantage Easy Royalties Eclipse Group Elan Firebrand IBS Royalty IPR Licence KNK Publishing

Metacomet Real Software Solutions Royalty Zone SalesForce SAP Schilling Stison Trilogy Publishing Vistex

GLOBAL RIGHTS 365

AN ONLINE CROSSMEDIA LICENSING AND RIGHTS TRADING PORTAL What is Global Rights 365? Global Rights 365 is a year round digital service allowing you to maximise your IP across both geographies and formats. It will feature rights available from across publishing, as well as the wider brand licensing universes including TV, film and gaming across all territories. www.bookbrunch.co.uk SIGN UP TODAY: www.globalrights365.com

IMPROVE YOUR RIGHTS MANAGEMENT: TIPS FROM THE PLS OPEN MEETING

BY TOM HOLMAN, THE INDEPENDENT PUBLISHERS GUILD

Looking after the rights you own can be a complex job. But as a ‘Futureproofing’ session at PLS’ Open Meeting made clear, good rights management is essential in modern publishing.

7 PROBLEMS...

1. LOST INCOME Failure to obtain sufficient rights and keep relevant documentation can force publishers to turn away some lucrative licensing opportunities. “It is all too easy to overlook the potential revenue that can be gained from existing catalogues,” said Suzanne Beynon, Publisher Relations Manager at PLS. 2. MISSED PROMOTIONAL OPPORTUNITIES Rights consultant Ruth Tellis gave an example of a publisher who had to turn down a great marketing deal that would have seen a book cover design licenced for smartphones and tablets – all because it failed to clear the necessary rights with the freelance illustrator. “Publishers are missing out on promotional opportunities,” she said. 3. PIRACY “Digital has created lots of opportunities for publishers – but it’s also created opportunities for those who wish to infringe our content,” said Emma House, director of publisher relations at the Publishers Association. Without proper rights management it is hard for publishers to combat it. “We don’t like piracy… and yet without effective rights management programmemes in place we’re not able to properly manage other people’s IP… ultimately we can become rights infringers ourselves,” added rights consultant Clare Hodder. 30

4. FINANCIAL PENALTIES Infringing copyright can lead to heavy penalties, including litigation, reimbursement fees and product recall or pulping. “The financial impact of non-compliance… is now much more serious,” Hodder said. 5. DAMAGED REPUTATION Poor rights management leads to poor customer service. PLS research suggests 40% of permissions are abandoned because they have proved too slow or cumbersome. “In what other circumstances would a customer be prepared to wait for weeks while research is carried out to buy a product or service?” Any publisher or author receiving poor service is unlikely to endorse that company to anyone else. 6. STIFLED INNOVATION “Not having good rights records restricts the innovation and creativity we can have in product development,” said Painter. “We’re a creative industry – we want authors and everyone involved in the process to have the freedom to innovate.” 7. SCUPPERED BUSINESS SALES For businesses seeking to sell, rights management can be a deal-breaker. Poor documentation won’t just affect the valuation of an operation – it could scupper a sale altogether, warned Natalina Bertoli, co-founder of Bertoli Mitchell. “A buyer will want comfort that what they’re buying is properly documented… they won’t do a deal without them and they can get their money back if they suffer a loss.”

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AND 7 SOLUTIONS...

1. BE CLEAR ABOUT WHAT LICENSES YOU OWN Many publishers have big gaps in their rights management, and are unclear about the scope of many agreements. The problem is exacerbated by the extended use of material now – in marketing, websites, apps and blogs as well as books. So make sure your licences are clear and comprehensive. “Publishers need to ensure they have agreements covering all the material that makes up a project,” said Hodder. 2. FORMALISE YOUR CONTRACTS It can be tempting to rely on verbal agreements or one-off payments to authors for rights. But this often turns out to be unsatisfactory, Beynon pointed out. “It leaves room for confusion between publishers and contributors as to who owns rights.” 3. CENTRALISE YOUR RIGHTS Filing cabinets, editors’ drawers, authors’ studies, digital archives – rights agreements can end up in many different places. Try to bring them together so you have all your information in one central, easily accessible place, Hodder advised. 4. SPREAD AWARENESS It’s not just rights teams that need to be confident about agreements: editors, sales and marketing teams and others need to be clear on them too. “Are the right people aware of restrictions?” Hodder asked. I can guarantee your rights people will be… but these days there are many more people in your organization who have need for rights information.”

Set up good internal systems and make sure that everyone follows consistent rights policies. 5. KEEP YOUR RECORDS UP TO DATE Publishers need to stay on top of things like rights reversions, expiry dates and author death dates. Make sure someone is responsible for keeping records up to date. “Maintaining legacy rights agreements records is really important if you don’t want to seriously diminish the economic potential of your archive content,” Hodder said. 6. FIND A RIGHTS CHAMPION Promoting the value of rights is a job that needs to be done from the very top of a publishing business down. “Particularly in non-traditional publishers, it’s essential to have a champion… we as rights people understand what the risks are, but we need the support of high level people,” said Painter. 7. LET PLS HELP PLS is developing various forms of support to help publishers improve their management systems, including new one-day rights management workshops and webinars. PLSclear is an essential tool in permissions, and PLS has plans for new working groups to consider rights management in different sectors of publishing, with a view to spreading best practice and case studies.

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