Random House Grabs Backlist Digital Rights

On Friday Random House CEO Markus Dohle sent a two-page letter to agents about its eBook plans. The first page optimistically details some of Random House’s eBook plans and a handful of the digital programs currently in the works, almost as if to distract from the bombshell on the second page: a claim on the digital rights to almost its entire backlist.

Here’s the important language: “The vast majority of our backlist contracts grant us the exclusive right to publish in electronic formats as well as more traditional physical formats. At the same time, we are aware there have been some misunderstandings concerning ebook rights in older backlist titles. Our older agreements often give the exclusive rights to publish ‘in book form’ or ‘in any and all editions.’”

Well, whoever wrote those contracts was pretty clever to cast so wide a net. But no doubt more than a few agents will take issue with having inadvertently sold the rights to their clients’ futures way back in the past. Still, it’s a smart business move on Random House’s part; no doubt it’ll loose a few titles to contractual renegotiation, and no doubt some lawyers will get involved in parsing that contractual language, but it’ll keep a lot more titles than it loses.

eBookNewser will be followup up with an agent or two today, and if any are reading this, post a comment below!

Click here to read the complete letter from Random House.

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