Who owns what: rights, ISBNs and contract terms

This guide explains common terms. It is not legal advice; for a specific contract, use a publishing lawyer or, if you are a member, the Authors Guild's contract review.

Copyright: yours from the start

The US Copyright Office says a work is protected from the moment it is "created and fixed in a tangible form," published or not. Registration is voluntary. It does, however, matter in three ways: you must register before you can sue for infringement of a US work; registered works may qualify for statutory damages and attorney's fees; and registration within five years of publication counts as prima facie evidence in court (US Copyright Office).

In the Authors Guild model contract, the publisher registers the copyright within 90 days of publication, naming the author as the copyright owner, and the Guild says a trade author "should never assign the copyright in the manuscript to the publisher" (Authors Guild, section 3). Self-publishers register it themselves through the Copyright Office.

Copyright versus publishing rights

A traditional publishing contract usually does not buy your copyright. It licenses specific rights: to publish the book in certain formats, languages and territories, for a term. The Authors Guild Model Trade Book Contract is organized around exactly these pieces: the grant of rights, copyright, subsidiary rights, reversion and so on.

The exceptions are worth knowing. Jane Friedman's publishing paths chart notes that some professional and educational publishers require assignment of all rights, including copyright (Friedman). Read any grant-of-rights clause for the word "assign."

The ISBN: who it says the publisher is

An ISBN is not a copyright; it is a product identifier. But it does record who published the book. The International ISBN Agency says the registrant element "identifies the particular publisher or imprint," and that the publisher is whoever initiates production and normally bears the cost and financial risk. It adds that the publisher "can be the author of the book if the author has chosen to publish their book themselves" (International ISBN Agency). In the United States, ISBNs are issued by Bowker.

What this means in practice:

• A free platform ISBN stays with the platform. KDP says its free ISBNs "can only be used on KDP," and the imprint shows as "Independently published" (KDP). Draft2Digital's free ISBN likewise cannot be used outside its services (Draft2Digital).
• A hybrid's ISBN stays with the hybrid. The IBPA's criteria expect hybrids to publish under their own imprints and ISBNs (Publishers Weekly). If you leave, the book needs a new ISBN.
• Your own ISBN goes where you go. If you or your own imprint bought it, you are the publisher of record on every platform.

Who owns what on each path

Ten clauses to read twice

Most of these come from the Authors Guild's model contract and its commentary, which is free to read and the best public guide to what fair terms look like.

1. Grant of rights. Which formats, languages and territories you license, and whether anything is "assigned." Keep what the publisher will not actively use.
2. Royalty basis. List price or net receipts. The Guild says net-based royalties pay roughly 40% to 50% less at the same percentage (section 5).
3. Advance schedule. How many installments, and what triggers each. The Guild prefers delivery over acceptance as a trigger, because the publisher controls when it accepts (section 4).
4. Publication deadline. How long the publisher has after acceptance. Standard contracts say 12 to 18 months; the Guild considers 12 fairer (section 9).
5. Subsidiary rights. Who sells audio, translation, excerpt and film rights, and the split. The Guild says never grant film, TV and merchandising rights to the publisher absent very special circumstances (section 6).
6. Reversion (out of print). The model clause lets rights revert two years after publication if no edition is for sale or your income falls below an amount such as $250 to $350 for two accounting periods. Avoid definitions based on copies sold or on a print-on-demand listing, which can keep a book technically "in print" forever (section 10).
7. Option on your next book. Remove it if you can. Otherwise limit it to a proposal, a decision within 30 days and terms to be agreed; avoid "right of last refusal" and "same terms" (section 23).
8. Competing works. Limit it to works that would directly hurt the book's sales, for a year or two. Experts should add language saying they may keep writing about their field (section 21). The Guild notes nonfiction publishers are often less willing to narrow this clause, so ask early.
9. Statements and audit. Twice a year is standard at large trade houses, with payment within three months (section 13). Make sure you can audit.
10. Leaving. For any paid path: what you pay if you stop, whether you get the final files and cover, and what happens to the ISBN and the listing. Writer Beware warns that platforms can also change their terms at will (Writer Beware).

Ghostwriting and ownership

When someone else writes the words, ownership depends entirely on the agreement. A good ghostwriting contract says, in plain terms, that the work and its copyright belong to you, that you are the author, and what credit, if any, the writer gets. It should also cover the files, the right to publish anywhere and who keeps any royalties.

Scribe Media, which makes this site, sells ghostwriting and publishing. Its FAQ says authors "own the copyright and all print and reproduction rights," own 100% of royalties, and can choose the name of the publisher on the book (Scribe Media FAQ). Hold any firm, Scribe included, to written terms like these before you sign.

What most people get wrong

• Thinking the ISBN proves ownership. It records the publisher, not the copyright holder.
• Signing for "all rights" because everyone does. Most trade contracts license specific rights. Ask what each one is for.
• Ignoring the option and non-compete clauses. For an expert who plans more books, these two can matter more than the advance.
• Assuming a paid company gives you the files. Get it in writing.