ABSTRACT
In this chapter we will look at contracts generally – what they are, legally, and how they are made – and then examine in some detail the contract which is in many ways the most important contract in publishing – the publisher’s initial contract with the author. Whether publication is to be in print on paper or in digital form, or for a book or journal article, or for other web-based content, this will raise a number of important issues, such as ownership and control of rights, which we will need to come back to again and again, so we will spend some time on these. In Chapter 5, we will go on to look at some other key publishing contracts, such as contracts with contributors, and co-publishing and subsidiary rights deals, including electronic rights.
