showme:
I'm not Alex. I just posted his open letter to Damnation from his blog.
It would have been useful to know that from the start of your post because the way you set it out makes it seem that you are Alex.
showme:
Kim claims I signed another contract with them, which has a termination fee clause, and which doesn't expire until next year sometime, but has ignored all my requests, since January, to see it.
There's been a lot of discussion about this on the Eternal Press thread. Did you sign a new contract with her when she bought out Damnation?
Check the terms of your original contract - unless there's a clause in there giving the publisher the unilateral right to amend the terms of the contract without your consent (which will be evidenced by your signature on the amended terms) those amendments may not be enforceable.
It sounds as though your original contract was for a specified period with an expiry date. Is this the case? If so, when was the expiry date and what did the contract say (if anything) about extending the term?
Most contracts will usually say that extension has to be by mutual consent in writing (PA's contract however says that if you want out then you have to serve notice 3 months in advance to notify them or else there's deemed extension). If the contract extension has to be by mutual consent and you did not agree to extend, then I would say to Kim that you consider the original term to have ended and revoke all rights for Damnation to continue to publish. If she continues, warn her that she is in breach of contract and you will look to sue her for that and infringement of copyright.
If the contract expiry is as per PA and the expiry date has expired, then you're on stickier ground. Check out how long the extension period is for - if it's another set period, then put the date in red in a calendar and make sure you serve a termination notice in time for it. The downer is that your book remains tied up, but it does at least leave you with a potential eventual out.
Sugertime:
The problem here is you're assuming that this is an ethical, reputable publisher who actually cares what their contract states. It isn't and they don't.
Where in my posts have I ever said that I believe Damnation to be either ethical or reputable? I believe I explicitly use the phrase "cowardly clowns" to describe them.
My point is that if you're an author stuck playing the contract game with these people, then each and every breach of contract that you can point to (in the absence of a termination clause enabling you to walk away without payment) is a weapon in your arsenal that should be deployed to wear them down.
Sugertime:
even take it a step further, it seems, by claiming they have contracts that don't even exist. What's a writer to do?
I address this higher up in this post.
Personally, if you feel so strongly about a book that you don't want to let it go then:
(a) look at your original contract terms and the provisions relating to amendment - if they can't amend without your consent, then the amendment is not binding and you can seek to rely on your expiry clause;
(b) look at your original contract terms and the provisions relating to expiry of the contract term. If contract rewewal requires both parties consent, and you didn't give that consent, then the original contract can be deemed to have expired.
Personally, I'd look at spending a small amount of cash (depends on how much lawyers charge where you live, but in the UK you'd be spending between 50 to 100 quid for a decent lawyer) on getting a lawyer to draft a letter to Damnation on my behalf setting all that out and asking for an immediate reversion of my rights, together with a cease and desist of further publication to see if they blink (some publishers don't take you seriously unless the letter is on legal headed paper), but you can equally do the same yourself or look into free legal services in your local area.
Terie:
MM is a lawyer-in-training and works for a law firm, and is talking about legal interpretations of contracts.
I'm actually qualified and have almost a decade's worth of UK commercial contracts experience
but for the sake of clarity and so that no one here is labouring under a false impression -
I am not giving anyone here specific legal advice.
If you're a Damnation author then you need to read through your contract and take your own legal advice as to your situation from someone qualified to advise on the law applicable to your contract (which I believe was Australian).
My comments are merely general observations intended to give you a jump point in order to decide what you do next.
Kensington:
I took this to mean that with a company who doesn't care what's in the contract and even claims contracts exist when they don't, the normal rules don't apply.
The normal rules
do apply - the problem is how far are you willing to go and how much are you willing to spend forcing the company to comply with them?
Again, I'd look at the amendment provisions, the expiry provisions and then I'd be looking to see each and every area where I could argue breach.
MM