Intellectual Property

[tcripp]

I've been asked to write course work for a company, but have not done this before. Would love to hear from those who have.

What kind of $$ do you charge?

Do you maintain copy rights or do you in turn share them with the company that's just paid you for the job?

What about simple edits and not new works?

Any little tidbits would be very helpful.

 

[skivail]

It should all depend on the contract. Most of time if you are writing for a company anything you create is not yours, it is considered the companys IP. If you create a product then sell the product to the company that is a little different. Your best bet may be to talk to a lawyer.

 

[danlimmer]

It all depends...

Most times when you work for a company or publisher you are giving all rights to the work. This should be pretty clear in the contract. You can negotiate, and if all rights are given it should pay at least a little bit more.

Other factors you should consider:

• How big the company is. Are they for profit or non-profit?
• How wide the distribution of the material is
• What they will make from the work (includes if they have the right to license or re-sell what you do)
• If you say no, will someone jump in and do it for the price they offer (supply and demand)?
• Are you offering something intangible (like your endorsement, experience or reputation) with the work?

One of the better ways to figure out basic worth (or at least go/no go) is to look at the job and figure out how many hours you think it will take you. Then figure out your hourly rate in general and what you feel you should make hourly for this. Does it line up? (NOTE: it rarely lines up that well...)

Keep in mind you may take a gig at the lower end of the scale to get your foot in the door and hopefully your good work will improve the next offer. You may also do something because you are passionate about a topic, want to spread a message, or simply do good things. All this being said, submitting for free or reduced rates only invites it to continue for you and others.

Without the exact type of work it is difficult to say but I hope this helps.

Dan