Capacitizing Yourself as a Publising Law Professsional

“Publishing” Lawyers

• 387 lawyers and firms list publishing law as a specialty in the West Legal Directory

• Each site a potential for content• Firms range from solo to 73 with 500+ firm

size

Lawyers as Literary Agents

Definition• The body of law relating to the publication of books, magazines, newspapers, electronic

materials, and other artistic works.• Publishing law is not a discrete legal topic with its own laws. It is a collection of often

disparate legal areas, such as contracts, intellectual property, torts and the First Amendment.• Publishing is the act of distributing or otherwise making public a visual or literary work.• The key players in publishing are publishers and authors.

– Publishers are those persons or organizations that dispense information to the public. – The term author commonly describes writers and journalists, but where publishing is

concerned, the term also describes photographers, filmmakers, video artists, and other artists whose work is published.

• Most publishers designate a lawyer to review a publishable work and identify its potential legal pitfalls. This person, called a legal liaison, may confer with outside legal counsel to ensure that the publication does not ensnare the publisher or author in legal conflict. – A legal liaison should be familiar with the many legal issues peculiar to publishing,

including Copyright and TRADEMARK infringement, sales, advertising, distribution policies, subscription agreements, special sales arrangements, insurance, free speech, tax matters, and antitrust concerns stemming from the publisher's membership in trade associations. Other employees of publishers, such as editors, also should be trained to spot potential legal problems with a publishable work and bring them to the attention of the legal liaison before publication.

Perle & Williams on Publishing Law, 3rd Ed

Think about what’s inside the box , then think outside the box

Fun area of law to practice research skills

• Content is distributed globally• Spectrum of from information

overload to no legal authorities at your disposal

• Resort to Berring “Commando Legal Research Rules– Use a Human Being– Any Port in a Storm

• Often have to back into publishing law research through news

Secondary Sources

Major Treatises

• Perle & Williams on Publishing Law, 3rd Ed• Lindey on Entertainment, Publishing and the Arts, 3d

(LINDEY3D)• Lots of popular out of date treatises on writer’s

guides to publishing. • Use group databases (e.g. TP-ALL) or one search box

to capture hybrid nature of area of law• Use UNH Law online catalog and consider subject

headings like : authors & publishers, press law, book industries, copyright, electronic publishing…

Legal Periodical Literature

• Legal Resource Index• Full text Wexis databases• Legal Scholarship Network– More content than Wexis

• Google Scholar• JSTOR• EBSCOHOST• Open web Findlaw and LawReview.org

Open Web

• Government sites (e.g. Copyright Office)• NGO & Industry• Lawyers• Educational • News • Blogs

“Publishing” Lawyers

• 387 lawyers and firms list publishing law as a specialty in the West Legal Directory

• Each site a potential for content• Firms range from solo to 73 with 500+ firm

size

Educational

• Courses• Law reviews– often wrapped into “media law” etc.

• Faculty Articles• Blogs• Symposia & Conferences

News

• Spectrum from dedicated pubs to global search of news sources:– Wexis– Google News

• Look for email news and/or RSS feeds.

PW Daily Newsletter Daily (M-F)Authoritative reporting of the day's most

important information - big deals, personnel moves, sales information and technology developments. Includes blogging updates,

employment information and author media appearances.

PW Daily Newsletter Daily (M-F)Authoritative reporting of the day's most

important information - big deals, personnel moves, sales information and technology developments. Includes blogging updates,

employment information and author media appearances.

Practice Materials

• Practice & Procedure Sets by Wexis Publishing• Form Sets by Wexis Publishing• Forms aggregators on Wexis

More occult publishing practice data…

• Public records • Court Dockets, Records, Briefs and Filings• Expert Witness Analysis, Jury Verdicts &

Settlements • LexisNexis® Verdict & Settlement Analyzer• LexisNexis® Total Litigator• LexisNexis® Transactional Practice Centers

• On Wexis• 70+ PLI items on publishing law

Primary Sources

Spectrum from open web to premium content

• Secondary sources• TARP and TRAC – remember?• One search approach• News alerts of new cases

Statutes

• Same access challenges as case law• Back in via news & business intelligence• Look for sites with topical statute collections• MLRC's 50-State Surveys• Monitor emerging issues like #SOPA #PIPA

Internet Publishing Laws

Regulations

• There are many CFR sections regulating publishing spanning – Agriculture– Banks– Commerce & Foreign Trade– Foreign relations– Labor– Money & Finance– National Defense– Telecommunications

Foreign Laws

• Wexis have wildly inconsistent country coverage.

• No “publishing law around the world” resource

• Cross reference Wexis

Foreign NGOs

Synergy with entertainment law?

Similar Primary & Secondary Source Scene

• Music business• Your band as a new business• What kind of Business should my

band be?• Protecting the name of your band• An ever-evolving industry• Band management• Music Career• Creating a Business Team• Shopping your tape• The Music Product Team• Making Your CD and Jackets• The live performance team• Performing at a Local Level

Helpful sites

Westlaw Tools & Strategies• Customize your tabs /favorites• Look for custom content– Lindey on Entertainment, Publishing and the Arts, 3d

(LINDEY3D)– Publish (PUBLISH)– Business Publisher (BUSPUB) – Multimedia Publisher (MMEDPUB)– Publishers Weekly (PUBLRWKLY)– Publishers Newswire (PUBLNEWSWIRE)– Seybold Report on Publishing Systems (SYBLDPS)

West Topics and Key Numbers

Experiment with One Search Option

• Traditional directory sites such as Blawg don’t have a publishing law topical area

• Back into publishing issues via search – Google Blog Search – Note “Blog homepages for

publishing law”• Feature of publishing law

firm sites• Lexis now syndicates

selective blogs

Don’t forget RSS to collect blogs

Linkedin

Twitter

• Often first instance of publishing news• Most law firms and publishing organizations tweet• Links in tweets may be only place to get a doc• “Tweets get buried and lost…Twitter is useless”– Set up two twitter accounts• One for PR or fun & other to follow select few

• Tweets are now searchable on Google

RSS Feeds

• Websites of all types• Blogs • Wikis• Email newsletters– Also RSS feeds into emails

Google Reader in Plain English

In conclusion, change is constant so stay in touch with the Library…