Quote:
Originally Posted by Tarana
In many cases, the publisher DOES own the copyright, very often for the first or second book of a now well known author. It's those tricky contracts. A law came not long ago (in US) that forces the copyright to revert to the author after some decades.
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Unless it's a work for hire, the publishers don't own the copyright. Depending on the contract, they may control the publishing right as long as certain criteria are met, for example, making sure the work is not out of print for more than a given period of time. Not terribly different than record contracts in that there are a lot of authors out there who don't care what the contract says, they just want to be published. That's why authors ought to have agents and lawyers. It's no different than any other business.