Losing my reprint sale rights??

[eScotty]

I recently wrote a news story for an NYC-based weekly. It was the first time in a year that I'd written for them, but there was no contract or even discussion of terms that preceded this article.

Then a week later I found out that a weekly in my home city (Toronto, Canada) had reprinted the article without my permission.

When I raised this with the U.S. weekly, the editor said they own all rights for two weeks and do not ask for payment for either the weekly or the freelancer when they grant reprint rights.

This is the first time I've come across such high-handed treatment, where I've been effectively denied the opportunity to sell reprint rights without even having been informed in advance of this loss of copyright.

But it's clear to me that if I make a fuss, the NYC weekly won't take my articles any more. Under the circumstances, do I have any leverage?

Thanks.

[fov]

When you wrote for them in the past, was there a contract or a discussion of terms? If yes, and this two week policy is different than it was in the past, you could bring that up.

Otherwise, I'm not sure there's anything you can do about it. If they didn't receive payment for the reprint, it then I don't see them paying you for it. But if you choose to write for them again, you could negotiate different terms up front.

[fourlittlebees]

And this is why you shouldn't do freelance writing without a contract in effect. Do you have recourse? Probably. Is it worth what it would cost to deal with attorneys in two countries? No.

[batyler65]

This is one of those 20/20 hindsight situations. I agree with Fov. If you had some sort of written agreement in the past, you could probably pursue it. Unfortunately, it probably won't get you anywhere except on the editor's bad side.

If you want to continue to write for them, your best bet is to negotiate for better terms next time.