First right of refusal ??

Hi guys

I am now going though the draft contract sent to me ACK Media in India for the publication of my comic in one of their magazines for kids.

There is just one thing I am uncertain about. It is the following condition:

“Further, the first right of refusal for marketing and distributing the work in non-Asia territories (all kinds of media) shall lie with the Company. In such circumstances wherein, the Company exercises its Right to First Refusal, You will engage the Company as a representative to deal with the third party publishers/marketers/distributors. The Revenue in such case would be shared 50-50% between the Company and You. It is further agreed upon that appropriate credits shall be provided to the Company and www.bwmag.in would be mentioned in the credits prominently in all the media where the content is used.”

My understanding of “first right of refusal” was that, if I find another party interested in publishing my work (outside of Asia), I should first get back to ACK Media so they can see if they can match the offer. If not, then I am free to publish.

But now there is this 50-50 share between me and them if I publish someplace else too. Does this sound good?

I would not agree to that 'first right of refusal/50-50 subsequent share' at all, since India has one of the largest readerships of comics in the world. Negotiate for one-time rights, and you maintain copyright control. I have had to legally crack down on several allegedly Christian groups in different nations who have STOLEN my material for print and/or online use. The fallen nature is alive and well amongst many who profess to belong to the household of faith. Jesus said, "Ye shall know them by their fruits."

Lastly - in the future, I would strongly advise you (and anyone else reading this) to not directly mention the NAME of any of your clients. There are opportunists (see above) who would love to take your 'gig' away from you by contacting your client and presenting work of higher quality and/or lower payment in order to have yet another ministry income source. I'm sorry that's how it largely is in this day and time.

Kind regards in Christ Jesus,

Alec

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Comments

Cobus Prinsloo July 8, 2013 at 4:18am

Thanks Paula, I appreciate your input.
Paula Richey July 8, 2013 at 3:49am

I wouldn't *think* it's anything to do with the artist at this point, if they are talking about the first right of refusal for distribution and marketing outside of Asia - that has more to do with the finished product. Unless you're paying your artist out of potential profits instead of a work-for-hire arrangement where you pay for the art and all rights to the art upfront. Then you'd need to talk to the artist and see if it's okay to further split profits with this other company.
I can't even think what sort of agent or lawyer you'd need for this sort of thing, though.
Paula Richey July 8, 2013 at 3:24am

I would think so - but then, I'm not a lawyer and I'm not them, so there's still a risk that they'd drop you and go shake down someone else. If the contract is unacceptable to you without those changes, it would be worth that risk, though.
Cobus Prinsloo July 8, 2013 at 3:19am

And BTW, is this "Fisrt right of refusal" an obligation to the artist, or does he.she have the right not to agree to such a condition?

Thanks a lot for your patience, Paula. I am quite nervous about this new territory.
Cobus Prinsloo July 8, 2013 at 3:16am

Hi Paula.

Is it reasonable then to suggest something as follows: if I market the material anywhere else, I will ad their name as a credit. And then, if it gets published someplace else, they get 15% pf the revenue?
Paula Richey July 7, 2013 at 4:24am

There's really more info available for freelance writers than there is for anything in the realm of comics. Even big, legitimate comics publishing companies have contracts that are draconian from a writer's perspective.
Looking at it again, maybe they are using "first right of refusal" to mean the right to refuse marketing and distributing of this particular work. That's less crazy than I first thought. But then, using them as your representative while you still do all the legwork to get your work distributed is iffy. One, in India, punctuality is an option, not a requirement (assuming my sources were correct from the time I wrote a paper on business relations in India for college). So instead of you meeting with a distributor at his earliest convenience, you have to coordinate a meeting with the rep. of the Indian co. as well. It sounds like a great big headache. Two, 50% of profits, plus they get their name in the credits, while you are doing the work. I would be fine with their name on my work no matter what country I published in - but I'd try to get the part about needing their rep. and giving them money for essentially making distribution more complicated struck from the contract. Lawyers *always* ask for more than they can rightfully get.
Cobus Prinsloo July 6, 2013 at 11:17pm

Calvary Comics, thank you so much for your input! Is there a place I can get proper info on 'One time rights" -- what it entails? This world is new to me.

Thanks also for the advice about mentioning specific names on forums -- that makes a lot of sense.
Cobus Prinsloo July 6, 2013 at 11:11pm

Hi Paula, thank you, that is valuable comment you added. Indeed it seemd quite sneaky to me!

But would the same principles apply if it is my existing work (not new) that I want to market in territories outside of Asia? Indian Rupees don't help much to pay the bills!
Calvary Comics July 4, 2013 at 4:50am

I would not agree to that 'first right of refusal/50-50 subsequent share' at all, since India has one of the largest readerships of comics in the world. Negotiate for one-time rights, and you maintain copyright control. I have had to legally crack down on several allegedly Christian groups in different nations who have STOLEN my material for print and/or online use. The fallen nature is alive and well amongst many who profess to belong to the household of faith. Jesus said, "Ye shall know them by their fruits."

Lastly - in the future, I would strongly advise you (and anyone else reading this) to not directly mention the NAME of any of your clients. There are opportunists (see above) who would love to take your 'gig' away from you by contacting your client and presenting work of higher quality and/or lower payment in order to have yet another ministry income source. I'm sorry that's how it largely is in this day and time.

Kind regards in Christ Jesus,

Alec
Cobus Prinsloo July 3, 2013 at 12:32pm

Thank you for your response, Paula, that is what I was thinking too.

Regards

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