PUBLISHED MAY 2001 by Ivan Hoffman, Publishing Attorney — If you’re contemplating incorporating or setting up a limited liability company (LLC) to operate your business, there are some significant legal issues you must resolve. Please note that these decisions are integrally tied in with accounting and tax issues as well, and thus it is important …

PUBLISHED JULY 1999 by Ivan Hoffman, Publishing Attorney — Many publishers routinely issue invoices to purchasers such as bookstores, wholesalers and the like but fail to recognize the importance of such invoices and the terms and conditions under which they are issued. The invoice is a contract, and in the appropriate circumstances, it can become …

PUBLISHED MARCH 1998 by Ivan Hoffman, Publishing Attorney — There are potentially enormous changes coming about in the world of foreign publishing. American publishers should make every effort to stay abreast of these changes so that they may position their businesses to take advantage of the opportunity these changes may bring. In a previous article, …

PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 1997 by Ivan Hoffman, Publishing Attorney — Publishers who find themselves the recipients of unsolicited material may frequently be tempted to ask “What’s in the envelope?””Can this one be the ‘big one’?””Is there something calling me from inside the manila package?” Finding out the answers to these questions requires a formal operating procedure …

PUBLISHED OCTOBER 1997 by Ivan Hoffman, Publishing Attorney — The Internet offers the publisher and the writer the freedom to post articles to a website, to news groups, or to writing groups for the purpose of critiquing a work. The question then arises whether or not such activities prevent the author or publisher from subsequently …

PUBLISHED JUNE 1997 by Ivan Hoffman, Publishing Attorney — Authors may at some point run into a situation in which they interview someone and obtain information from them that ends up in a book or periodical. This information may be words, photographs, biographical background, or other material. Since we all have rights of privacy, it …

PUBLISHED OCTOBER 1996 by Ivan Hoffman, Publishing Attorney — It frequently seems that book publishers are not in the business of selling books. Rather, it often appears that they are in the business of consigning books. Although the paperwork may be marked “INVOICE,” the reality is that some or indeed all of the books represented …

PUBLISHED JULY 1996 by Ivan Hoffman, Publishing Attorney — We often hear about book royalties in a fashion that is illusory. To discuss a royalty rate without at the same time discussing the basis for the rate’s calculation is like comparing apples to oranges. To banter about numbers like 8%, 9%, 17% or such is …