The attorneys at Morningstar Law Group are leaders who are frequently asked to share their legal insights and expertise. Here is a sampling of the wisdom our attorneys are sharing at industry conferences, in published articles, and at continuing legal education events.

Insight

Reps and Warranties in Publishing Agreements

August 27, 2021

Insight by Attorney Mitch Tuchman In the 1970 comedy Brand X Taylor Mead, playing the president, is asked by a journalist, “Sir, what will you do when the inevitable happens?” “I’m an optimist,” he responds, “I don’t think the inevitable will happen.”  But inevitably it does. In publishing and other agreements each party seeks to […]

Insight

World Rights in Book Publishing Agreements

August 18, 2021

Insight by Attorney Mitch Tuchman A publisher typically tries to negotiate for “world rights”, asking an author to authorize an exclusive, worldwide license to exercise all of the author’s rights under copyright and the ability to authorize sublicensees to exercise one or more of those rights (e.g., foreign language translation) throughout the duration and territory […]

Insight

Book Publishing Agreements: Copyright Ownership & Licenses

July 19, 2021

Insight by Attorney Mitch Tuchman Who Owns the Copyright in a Book? The nature of most trade book publishing agreements is not a transfer of copyright ownership from the author to the publisher but a license granted by the author to the publisher to exercise some or all of the author’s rights for a reasonable […]

Insight

Understanding Book Publishing Agreements: Territory

July 2, 2021

Insight by Attorney Mitch Tuchman What Are Martians Reading This Season? Does your publisher sell books on Mars or license rights on Venus?  If not, then “throughout the universe,” which we see from time to time as the defined territory in publishing agreements, is not appropriate.  Perhaps the publisher simply does not want to risk […]

Insight

How Long Should a Book Publishing Agreement Endure?

June 23, 2021

Insight by Attorney Mitch Tuchman This is the 2nd article in a series intended to introduce readers to publishing agreements. Click HERE for Mitch’s 1st installment. Authors don’t live to see their copyrights expire.  By law those rights endure 70 years postmortem and frequently pass unheralded through their owners’ estates to uninformed or indifferent heirs.  […]

Insight

New to Publishing Agreements? What You Need to Know.

June 18, 2021

Insight by Attorney Mitch Tuchman In a world before self-publishing—and still today—authors with the ability to write but not the wherewithal to print and sell books in commercial quantities engaged publishers to do so.  Publishers in turn undertook to manufacture and distribute books—and maybe sublicense rights to create derivative works—looking to the resulting revenues to […]

Insight

John Kivus Creates Force Majeure Clause & Contract Amendment Template for ShootProof

March 30, 2021

ShootProof is an online company whose the mission is “to be the global leader in software, e-commerce, education, and productivity solutions that empower every photographer to create, grow, and manage the business of their dreams.” One of the resources provided by the company is a contract tool that delivers lawyer-drafted templates. In response to the pandemic, […]

Insight

Morningstar Law Group's Richard Caira Contributes to Financial Times Article on Data Regulation

March 11, 2021

Richard Caira, a partner in our firm’s Intellectual Property and Technology practice group, was recently interviewed by Financial Times for their article on the increasing demand for legal services, both advisory and litigation, brought about by the growing regulations on data privacy. Richard was well positioned to contribute having over 20 years of experience advising […]

Insight

Morningstar Law Group's Mack Paul Looks at 2021

March 11, 2021

Mack Paul, a partner in our firm’s Real Estate and Land Use practice group, joined two other local business leaders in an interview with Triangle Business Journal (TBJ) regarding their business outlook for 2021. Asked “Based on the information you have now, how do you see your company performing in 2021? What do you think […]

Insight

Why Would a Writer Need an Attorney?

July 24, 2020

The answer to this question and more was shared by attorney Mitch Tuchman at the recent virtual event hosted by the North Carolina Writers’ Network. Sharing his expansive knowledge and deep experience in publishing and copyright law, Mitch has spoken to this group on numerous occassions. Well-received, the organizers of the event shared “Our writers clearly […]