Links to Help Narrators Research Rights Holders to Books
I’m not a lawyer, but I have voiced an attorney in multiple audiobooks. Just because an author has passed away doesn’t mean you’re free to create the audiobook of her book!
Before you can record an audiobook, you must do due diligence to determine whether the book is in the public domain or still under copyright. When a work is still under copyright, the rights holder is the person or company that owns the audio rights to the book. The rights holder (RH) will receive the royalties from the sale of the audiobook.
If the book is still copyrighted, the RH could retain the audio rights and hire you as an independent contractor to produce the audiobook. You also could license the audio rights and become the rights holder. If you’re interested in this second option, I highly recommend you purchase my webinar with attorney and audiobook producer/director/distributor Jessica Kaye on this topic using the link on my Shop page.
The links on this page will help you understand the copyright laws in the US and UK and do your research to find the rights holder.
General info about copyright terms and the public domain:
Be aware that copyright law varies by country.
Cornell University chart that shows copyright terms and public domain in the US
In general, if the book was published in the US before or in 1923, it’s in the public domain. You are free to record it as is or create a derivative work from it. For instance, I created a derivative work by combining the texts from authors Nellie Bly and Elizabeth Island about their independent, solo trips around the world in 1889 into a single, flowing narrative. My resulting book and audiobook, to which I own the copyright, is Bly VS Bisland: Beating Phileas Fogg In A Race Around The World .
If the book was published between 1924 and 1978, check its status in the US Copyright Renewal Database below.
The footnotes at the bottom of the page offer even more useful links for research.
Nolo’s quick guidelines on Determining the Length of US Copyright Duration
US Copyright Office Circular 92: Copyright Law of the United States
Per Section 105, works created by the US Government are automatically in the public domain. These include materials created by an officer or employee as part of their official duties. For instance, using material I found on a federal web site devoted to history, I created the text for my audiobook The Trial of Susan B. Anthony . You can contact the site administrator if you have any doubt or question about using material on federal web sites.
UK Copyright Service fact sheet on UK copyright law
Sites that you may find useful in determining the rights holder of your copyrighted title:
For a current book, I would contact either the author or the publisher by finding their web sites. If you contact a publisher, you will want to send your inquiry to the Subsidiary Rights department.When the book is in the backlist and/or out of print, you may need to do more research on these sites to locate the rights holder.
Stanford University US Copyright Renewal Database
United States Copyright Office Public Catalog (1978-present)
Online Books Page Copyright Registration and Renewal Records
Harry Ransom Center UTA Locating US Copyright Holders
Has searchable database, 10 other ways to find rights holder, and other resources
QueryTracker Literary Agents Who Reps Whom
PublishersMarketplace.com
Offers free and paid accounts and contains a database of deal reports.
Other search tips:
You could Google “AuthorName BookTitle” (within the quotes) to find other sites where you might contact the author.
You might even get lucky by Googling “AuthorName BookName audio rights”. Using that search, I once found an article about the author that included mention of her agent’s name.
Once you’ve found the rights holder, this info may be helpful:
Jane Friedman’s blog Requesting Permissions + Sample Permissions Letter
Includes helpful flowchart infographic, as well as links to permissions departments for the Big 5 publishers
PublishLawyer.com Permissions Agreement form
This template may help you create a licensing agreement.
I’ll continue to update this page as I find more related sites. If you’ve found useful sites in researching rights holders, I’d love for you to leave its URL in the comments. Also, you may want to check out the links I listed for authors in the companion article Links to Help Authors Know Their Rights.
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