Reclaiming My HEA and My Intellectual Property Rights

It's getting close to Hallowe'en.  Let me tell you a scary story....

Going through a separation and divorce isn't easy.  There are thousands of details ready to trigger strife and argument.  I was ready to stand my ground on custody matters, financial support, and keeping my copies of JMS's Amazing Spider-Man.  But one that caught me by surprise was the need, as an author, to protect my intellectual property rights.

First, a quick definition for those not familiar with the term.  Intellectual property rights refer to the rights to things which have been created.  In my case, it applies to the books which I had written during the course of the marriage.  Even though my ex-husband had no hand in my writing career, there are two legal arguments that grant him a 50-50 share.  First, spouses are considered one person under the law.  Thus, what one creates, earns, or saves is shared equally with the other.  And second, an argument could be made that by providing the lion's share of financial support to the household, my ex-husband can be seen as a silent partner in my business, in the absence of any other legal clarification.

In any business, there are decisions to be made.  Do I submit a manuscript to a publishing house or do I self-publish?  What do I spend on covers and editing?  If I'm offered money for possible movie rights or foreign rights, do I accept the offer or hold out for a better one?  When I was married, these decisions weren't an issue.  I simply made them based on what I felt was best for my career and my business.

However, once I became separated, my ex-husband technically had the right to insist on an equal voice in making those decisions.  (To be clear, he had no interest in acting on that right and the situation between us is currently amicable.  But it was still a vulnerability that I wasn't comfortable leaving in place.)

I couldn't protect my income and keep all the money earned from my books.  Like any business, my author earnings will affect what I'm financially entitled to in terms of alimony and child benefits.  But I could ensure that my intellectual property rights were severed and all of my books are solely mine.

I ended up having to pay a one-time settlement, the equivalent of half of my saved income from book sales.  For that payment, I insisted on language which states that any further books are not considered joint intellectual property, including any books which were in the process of being written but not yet published.  The agreement also made it clear that my existing books were my sole intellectual property and that my ex-husband had no further right to them.

It was a bargaining chip that could potentially have been much more costly.  Particularly if I hadn't been aware of it and had left the property rights as joint.  Things are cooperative now, but that doesn't mean they will be in the future.

A lot of romance novels start with a hero or a heroine in financial difficulty, with them having been forced into a desperate situation.  I'm looking forward to finding a new happily-ever-after, but that doesn't mean I want to begin in crisis.  In this matter, I've protected myself and I'm feeling like a proper heroine because of it.

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