How Freelance Writers Can Ensure They Keep Rights Over Their Work

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Table of Contents

• Copyright
• Contracts
• Negotiation
• Key Takeaways

As a freelance writer, the work you produce is your most valuable asset. But, as media has shifted from print to digital, the copyright terms which freelancers are expected to agree to have changed. More and more contracts for freelance writers contain clauses which assign their intellectual property rights to the news organisation they work for. This article will explain how to protect your intellectual property (IP) and ensure you retain the rights to your work if you are a freelance writer.

Copyright

Once you have written down your work, it automatically receives copyright protection. This means that you have the rights to: 

• publish it;
• reproduce it;
• sell it; and 
• use the material in any way you wish.

In Australia, you have other types of rights over your work, known as moral rights. These include the right to:

1. be identified and named as the author of your work;
2. stop others from being falsely credited for your work; and
3. not have your work modified in a way which changes its meaning or results in it being offensive.

Contracts

A contract between a publisher and yourself may be presented in a variety of ways, including within a: 

• contractor agreement;
• work for hire agreement; and
• service agreement. 

Many contracts have clauses which specify who owns the intellectual property between the parties. It is crucial to pay close attention to this clause as it could determine who owns the copyright in your work.

The rights to your IP will usually be referred to as a licence or assignment. 

It is crucial to note that if your IP rights have not been laid out in the contract, copyright law will generally favour your publisher. This means that the news organisations you work with will have a licence to use your work for the purpose that they commissioned you for.

Negotiation

As a freelance writer, you may need to negotiate the terms of your contract. As a first step, you should always look for any clauses that refer to IP assignment. Any clauses which take away your rights could leave you vulnerable to negotiate ongoing profits associated with the work.

Any consent to waive your moral rights means that publishers will not need to identify you as the author of your work. You also will not have the right to object to any alteration of your work.

A negotiation won’t always result in either you or the publisher owning the rights to the work. A common approach is for you to exclusively license the IP to the publisher initially and specify that the rights will revert to you after a set timeframe. This is important as it means you can use your work: 

• on your website;
• within books; and 
• any future publications. 

Many publishers are happy to include this in the contract, but you have to ask for it.

Key Takeaways

As a freelance writer, your work is your most valuable business asset and requires protection. Copyright protection over your work will arise automatically without the need to register it. However, if you are entering into a contract with a publisher, you need to be cautious that it does not assign all your rights to them. If you would like more information about how to protect your intellectual property rights as a freelance writer, contact LegalVision’s IP lawyers on 1300 544 755 or fill out the form on this page.