{"id":176614,"date":"2025-04-08T11:59:17","date_gmt":"2025-04-08T10:59:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/societyofauthors.org\/?p=176614"},"modified":"2025-04-10T12:33:46","modified_gmt":"2025-04-10T11:33:46","slug":"the-advisory-team-on-working-with-overseas-publishers-and-agents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/societyofauthors.org\/2025\/04\/08\/the-advisory-team-on-working-with-overseas-publishers-and-agents\/","title":{"rendered":"The advisory team on: working with overseas publishers and agents"},"content":{"rendered":"
Working with a publisher or an agent based in a different country to where you live or pay tax can be complicated. However good your relationship, there are practical and legal concerns which you will need to consider when signing a contract that is under a different legal jurisdiction.\u00a0<\/p>
Before you sign, think carefully about whether a UK-based company or self-publishing might be better options. Do you need an agent in another country, especially if the main market for your work is where you live? <\/p>
Sometimes there may be good reasons for signing up with an overseas company. If you\u2019re licensing your own foreign territorial or translation rights, you may need to deal with a US publisher or an agent based in a target territory. Translators are often commissioned by non-UK based publishers.<\/p>
The core expertise of the advisory team is in our specialist knowledge of the UK publishing sector and most of the contracts we see are from UK-based members publishing in the UK. The advice below is given in this context. But if you\u2019re an SoA member who lives abroad and has a UK publisher, or you live in the UK and publish overseas, then the general principles will still apply to you. If you need more country-specific advice, we can often signpost you to resources from sister organisations such as the US Authors Guild. <\/p>
If you do sign a contract with an overseas publisher, there are three key factors to consider.<\/p>
Every country has its own laws and legal procedures. Some countries have laws which override contractual terms. Ideally, seek advice from a foreign lawyer or the professional writers\u2019 association in the country where the contract originates.\u00a0 Within the UK, the law in Northern Ireland and in Scotland can differ from the legal system in England and Wales. <\/p>
There can be specific issues with US contracts. Be wary of signing away your rights in a \u2018work for hire contract\u2019.\u00a0 US bankruptcy laws are different from the UK and can offer very little protection. \u00a0\u00a0Agency contracts often differ from the usual industry practice in the UK and some may even contain provision to take commission on future exploitation of as-yet unlicensed rights.\u00a0 Contact the SoA for bespoke guidance before you sign.<\/p>
Taking legal action if you are owed money or are seeking to terminate a contract outside your own legal jurisdiction is likely to be prohibitively expensive, where it\u2019s even possible at all. Be aware that even if you can prove breach, foreign litigation is complex and expensive, so you may not be able to enforce any contract.<\/p>