Enrichment · Passion Projects

Who holds
which rights.

A published book can have five contracts and a magazine story two, each with its own territory and end date, and the rights that come back are easy to forget. List every grant once and see what is licensed, what is ending and what is yours to sell again.

Add a workWhat you get
$5one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $5

Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the Passion projects kit, $39 for 34 items.

Your works

The worked example is made up: a novel with print, ebook and audio deals and a film option that lapsed, and a short story whose magazine rights have come back. Saved on this device only.

Loading the work form. If nothing appears, turn on JavaScript.

What you get

Enrichment · Passion Projects$5

What you finish with
A record per work: the kind, year, Copyright Office registration and number; every grant with the right, who holds it, territory, exclusive or not and the end date; five contract terms (reversion, term, option, signed copy, royalty statements). Shows each right as licensed, ending or back with you and lists rights still free; flags grants ending within six months, grants that have ended, overlapping exclusive grants and an unregistered work.
Who it is for
Writers, poets, photographers and songwriters with published or self-published work, including students placing their first pieces.
Format
Browser inventory with a saved record per work. Prints one work’s rights, every work in a table or a blank form; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
$5 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Also in the Passion projects kit ($39) and the Enrichment Suite pass ($119), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Passion Projects space in Caveat Enrichment.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Add one work and open its contracts.
  2. Enter each grant as its own line, with territory and end date.
  3. Read the flags for anything ending or ended.
  4. Ask for any reverted rights in writing.
  5. Register works you plan to sell or license widely.

Add a work

A bundle of rights

Copyright is a bundle of rightsYourcopyrightCopy itprint, ebook, audio editionsAdapt ittranslation, film, sequelsDistribute itsell or lend copiesPerform itreadings, plays, broadcastsDisplay itonline, in a galleryCopyright is a bundle of rightsYour copyrightCopy itprint, ebook, audio editionsAdapt ittranslation, film, sequelsDistribute itsell or lend copiesPerform itreadings, plays, broadcastsDisplay itonline, in a gallery
Each right can be licensed separately, to different people, for different places and times. That is why one book can have several contracts.

Rights that come back

Many book contracts return rights when a title goes out of print or sells below a set number; magazine first serial rights usually return after publication. U.S. law also lets authors end most grants made after 1977 during a five-year window that opens 35 years after the grant.

Why register

Copyright exists as soon as a work is fixed. For a U.S. work, registration is needed before suing for infringement, and registering before an infringement (or within three months of publication) makes statutory damages and attorney’s fees available.

Sources

  1. U.S. Copyright Office. Circular 1, Copyright Basics, and Circular 2, Copyright Registration (copyright.gov).
  2. 17 U.S.C. §106 (exclusive rights), §203 (termination of transfers) and §412 (registration and remedies) (law.cornell.edu).
  3. Authors Guild. Model Trade Book Contract and guidance on reversion of rights (authorsguild.org).
  4. Authors Alliance. Understanding Rights Reversion (authorsalliance.org).

The worked example is made up. This page keeps a record; it is not legal advice, and your contracts decide who holds what. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.