Doug Johnson

Most of my Head for the Edge columns, updated and edited, can be found in my latest book. Buy it and I might be able to afford a nicer nursing home one day. Thank you.

A father-son chat
Head for the Edge, Library Media Connection, November 2007

33% of online teens share their own creations online, such as artwork, photos, stories, or videos. Lee Raines, Pew Internet & American Life Project, 2006

My son Brady, like many Net Genners, is not just a consumer of creative products, but a producer as well.  When I learned he was about to have one of his drawings published by a national journal, I gave him this fatherly advice. It might be something you wish to share with your creative students as well.

Dear Son,

I understand that a national publication has asked to publish your work. I have always been proud of your wit, skill and creativity, and it is wonderful to see it recognized by the editors of a high quality magazine.

But it is time to have a little father-son talk about “reproductive” rights. I know how heady that feeling can be when you realize someone wants you, thinks you are wonderful. But son, please don’t let this new relationship blind you to some realities of life. You may not want to hear this, but I say it only to protect you.

Look carefully at the language of the copyright agreement the Publisher wants you to sign:

Author hereby grants to Publisher all right, title, interest in and to the Work, including copyright in all means of expression by any method now known or hereafter developed, including electronic format…

Are you really willing to give up all rights to your baby - forever? You will never be able to use it again without asking permission of this first publisher. The publisher can use and reuse and sell your creative work again and again if it so chooses in any format, to any other publisher, no matter how low and degraded. Is this really what you want?

I am old man and have been around the track a few times. Let me give you a suggestion. Send in your own publication agreement. Word it something like this:

The Author hereby grants the Publisher the exclusive right to the first publication of the Work in the ________ (date or volume) edition of  ____________ (title of publication) in print format only. This exclusive right extends for 90 days after publication, after which the Author may republish the Work in any format or resell to any publisher. A separate permission must be granted for any use of the Work in any other issue of the publication, in any other publication, or in any other format. The Publisher may not resell the Work or grant permission to any other entity to use the Work without the Author’s written consent. The Author retains exclusive copyright ownership of the Work.

What is the worst that can happen? The publisher will say “no” and negotiations will continue.

Your generation of producers often views the use of others’ creative work as raw material for their own expressions. The term “mashup” is commonly used to describe a montage of digital works – especially music and video – that have been edited and mixed to create a unique creative product. The use of others’ work is regarded not as theft or plagiarism, but homage to the originator, and sites like YouTube make sharing such creations simple and inexpensive.

So another avenue you, my boy, may wish to explore is granting a Creative Commons license or other CopyLeft-type permission so others can use your work. The recognition that one’s own work can and should be used by others in their own creative processes has given rise to a new means of intellectual property control called Creative Commons <creativecommons.org>. The movement, started by Stanford Law School professor and author Lawrence Lessig in 2001, is a backlash against what many see as overly restrictive copyright laws that keep intellectual property out of the public domain for an unreasonably long period of time. But by using a Creative Commons license, the intellectual property creator (that’s you) openly gives others varying degrees of rights to use the property in the belief the work can be used, changed and improved upon by others.  

Your creative work is what will sustain you financially and emotionally throughout your career. Learn, my dear boy, to treat it well, guard it carefully, and value it highly. Your father wants to make sure you earn enough money from your imagination and skills to place him in a nursing home of high quality as he enters his dotage.

Publishers are seductive, but they usually have their own best interests at heart, not yours.

Love,
Dad