Creators Beware: TOKYOPOP’s Manga Pilot ‘Pact’
The blogiverse is expressing great fear of the “pact” (read: contract) for TOKYOPOP’s new Manga Pilot program, in which creators develop a 24-36 page chapter or short story for digital distribution. Lea Hernandez broke the story, and here’s a PDF of the pact.
T-pop decided to eschew legalese for the ‘pact’ in favor of simplistic language, but the result comes across like they’re trying to lure a 10-year-old somewhere with candy. But that’s not what people are worried about; the following seems to be the main concern:
“Moral rights” is a fancy term (the French thought it up) that basically has to do with having your name attached to your creation (your credit!) and the right to approve or disapprove certain changes to your creation. Of course, we want you to get credit for your creation, and we want to work with you in case there are changes, but we want to do so under the terms in this pact instead of under fancy French idea. So, in order for us to adapt the Manga Pilot for different media, and to determine how we should include your credit in tough situations, you agree to give up any “moral rights” you might have.”
Now, since their definition is a little bit…fuzzy, shall we say…here’s Wikipedia’s version: “Moral rights include the right of attribution, the right to have a work published anonymously or pseudonymously, and the right to the integrity of the work.” The moral rights traditions are a bit spottier in the US than in Europe; see here for more details on that.
Now, I’d say that there are some other things to be worried about in this contract, such as the fact that if anything in your pilot results in a lawsuit, you’re responsible for any and all defending you have to do, court costs and all.
Chris Butcher also has some word on the payment front– apparently the PDF originally noted that payment for a manga pilot project was $750, which works out to about $20 a page for a 36-page pilot. On the one hand, that’s not a lot…but on the other hand, I wonder how many of these actually sell much at all?
So, there you go. I don’t think that T-pop is trying to pull one over on creators with this pact, but it certainly doesn’t sound like an amazing deal.
Tags: manga pilots, TOKYOPOP
May 27th, 2008 at 1:30 pm
Really? You _really_ don’t think Tokyopop is trying to pull one over on creators with this? With their “Hey Dude” A&R speech (thx Lea) “pact” and all that nonsense?
This is awful, across the board, and any company worth its salt simply should not behave this way.
Disgusting.
May 27th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
@Chris: Maybe it’s because I know some TOKYOPOP employees, but I don’t think they’re just out to ruin creators lives. I suspect that global manga doesn’t sell very well on average, and therefore I think they’re struggling, perhaps desperately, to find a way to make money on something that they’ve made a significant aspect of their business plan.
That said, I certainly wouldn’t tell a single person I knew to go with this contract. Even if I’m right and T-pop means well, you know what they say about good intentions and the road to hell.
May 27th, 2008 at 1:51 pm
“…other things to be worried about in this contract, such as the fact that if anything in your pilot results in a lawsuit, you’re responsible for any and all defending you have to do, court costs and all.”
I’d rather hope it’d never come to that, because no one would sign a contract to give up their moral rights.
It’s ALL heinous, and NONE of it deserves the benefit of ANY doubt.
Of course TP people are nice. They don’t get creators to sign these contracts by acting like jerks.
May 27th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
The PDF currently up at TP has no $ amount on it, just a blank next to a $ sign, which suggests the “everyone is getting the same deal” is already up for negotiation.
May 27th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
Lol this is why I hate Tokyopop
May 27th, 2008 at 3:10 pm
Tokyopop sucks alot, yes.
May 27th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
If I may interject a little cynicism, this creator rights thing has been talked about for decades, and still there are too many fresh, starry-eyed artists to keep bad contracts from ever going out of style. I remember when Ms. Hernandez warned against the original RSoM contracts, and being roundly booed by artists who now lament the loss of their characters. All this is probably futile in the end.
That said, with original works now seemingly such an integral part of their plans, I hope someone at TP recognizes the old adage that “you get what you pay for.”
May 27th, 2008 at 6:54 pm
TP has really outdone themselves with this load of crock.
May 27th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
Here’s another perspective from Bryan Lee O’Malley, author of the Scott Pilgrim series:
http://destroyerzooey.livejournal.com/180842.html
May 28th, 2008 at 3:08 am
[...] in: Christopher Butcher, Niki Smith (who was considering sending in a story and has reconsidered), Gia Manry, Jen Wang, and Hope [...]
May 28th, 2008 at 3:56 am
[...] more at the link. You can read further commentary from Christopher Butcher, Hope Larson, Gia Manry and Johanna Draper Carlson… all of whom come down on pretty much the same side: Don’t [...]
May 28th, 2008 at 6:48 am
[...] about saying that I didn’t think TOKYOPOP was trying to pull one over on creators with their contract yesterday…so today I wanted to offer a link to Brigid’s take over at digital strips, [...]
May 28th, 2008 at 9:45 am
I can see both sides of the coin here, but is this really un-expected? It reminds me of the contracts associated those sort of American Idol/reality tv music shows.
I’ve always had a soft spot for Tokyopop though, because they really are pretty much the sole company selling manga in Ireland.
May 29th, 2008 at 4:21 am
[...] speaks to the evil-Tokyopop aspect: Maybe it’s because I know some TOKYOPOP employees, but I don’t think they’re just out to ruin [...]
July 31st, 2008 at 5:35 pm
[...] suggests violates the “moral rights” of the original creator (which you may recall from that whole TOKYOPOP pact thing). He moves on to argue that fans have an interest as strong or perhaps even stronger than the [...]