Almost Half of Authors Unaware of World Book Rights Ownership

LONDON, ENGLAND, April 17, 2013 (Press-News.org) Almost half of authors (47%) have admitted that they did not know or were unsure if they owned the world rights to their book.

In the inaugural IPR License Author Index, published and aspiring authors were quizzed on their knowledge of the rights they hold to their work. In addition to the worrying statistic over a lack of knowledge regarding the world rights to their work, only 13% of respondents said that they had licensed their work to an overseas publisher, representing a potentially huge opportunity missed.

When asked about legitimate rights that they could sell, 85% of respondents accurately cited print rights as sellable rights. Also correctly highlighted were digital rights (85%), translation rights (80%), first serialisation rights (90%), second serialisation rights (89%), TV, film and radio rights (84%), large print rights (75%), braille rights (73%) public lending rights (65%) and merchandise rights (78%).

However, a staggering 28% of authors failed to recognise that they didn't have a legitimate right to license their human rights whilst over a third (38%) neglected to acknowledge that a right of passage (sic) was also a right that they didn't have the power to sell.

In other results from the survey 59% thought that digital copyright infringement was becoming more of a problem with only 6% citing that it was becoming less of a problem and 35% saying that they were unsure. 40% of authors reported not knowing or being unsure if they should receive royalties when someone photocopies their work.

IPR License is the platform for authors and publishers to list and license literary rights. The platform offers the opportunity to monetise or find the best new content in a global marketplace. It also acts as a copyright hub making it easier to locate copyright holders to clear permission for use of their work.

IPR License has recently launched a 'Know Your Rights' campaign for authors. The campaign consists of a dedicated web resource on the IPR License website http://www.irplicense.com containing articles, case studies and a rights glossary. It also contains an online rights clinic for authors to post questions via twitter which will then be answered by industry professionals.

Tom Chalmers, Managing Director at IPR License, commented:
"Some of these results border on the alarming and it's clear that many authors remain unaware of exactly what rights they hold to their work. We need to underline just how vital it is that authors are fully aware of their rights, especially for self-published and independent authors, and how we as an industry have to do more to help them get to grips with these important issues. All authors need to be in the best possible position to profit from their writing skills and the sales of various rights, both in the UK and on a global scale, whether for translation, TV, radio or film can really help maximise any potential income for all their hard work and endeavors."

For further information please visit http://www.iprlicense.com

Notes for editors
The IPR Author Index survey took place in Q1 2013 and 97 published and aspiring writers were surveyed.

IPR License is the platform on which to list and license literary rights. The ground-breaking platform offers the opportunity to monetise or find the best new content in a global marketplace.

IPR License is an essential platform for:
•Authors
•Publishers
•Literary Agents
•Other Rights Holders

With 13m records already on the system, rights-holders assign records to their account and add new records - whether already published or not - as well as adding additional information to their records. Those looking to purchase rights can then contact the rights-holder directly through the messaging system.

In addition, the platform highlights those records receiving the most interest, recently added and recently licensed, and sends a weekly bulletin to all subscribers.

IPR License is the ground breaking platform for publishers and agents to list and license their literary rights, providing access to a global marketplace.