Buying republication rights for existing books

Anyone know how?

[burcot]

Would anyone be able to point me towards a strictly legit
resource for buying the publishing rights to existing out of print books.

Thanks

[ccDan]

I don't know that there's a single resource where you could do that.

Transfers and assignments of copyright are pretty much a private matter. If John Smith assigns or transfers the copyright to the Great American Novel to XYZ Publishing, that's all handled in contracts between the parties involved and not necessarily a matter of public record.

As such, there is no public record where you can look up the current copyright holder of a work, at least not inasfar as I am aware.

You will, most likely, have to investigate each book on an individual basis. In some cases, the rights to an out-of-print book will revert back to the author. But, that's something that really depends upon the contract the author had with the publisher.

So, you'll have to take a particular book and research it to see if someone else has published a version more recently than the copy you have. Then, contact the author and/or most recent publisher. And, work from there.

Then, get a good IP attorney to draw up the contract between you and the current copyright holder, and be sure the contract covers the basics, such as the presumed copyright holder defending you against claims by others on the copyright. In other words, if the author says the rights have reverted back to him, you want to make sure that he is going to defend you against claims to the contrary, especially if the former publisher comes along and insists they still hold the rights.

The last part is important. Make sure you seek the counsel of a good IP attorney to help you out before you finalize any deal.