Legal Question in Business Law in Ohio

I am the co-author on a textbook and have been since the first edition. The other author passed away after the second edition and has not participated in the third and fourth editions. I am now revising the fifth edition. I also keep 90 percent of the author royalties; originally, it was a 25/75 split in her favor.

As is customary, though, I want the names reversed on the cover to show that I am currently the principal author, but the textbook company wants to keep the order the same, implying my dead co-author is still contributing to the text because her name is better known. I'm told it's impossible to change the order of the names for the fifth edition, so I requested an addendum to our contract that states that starting with the sixth edition, the names will be reversed.

The textbook company instead wants to change the title to have my dead co-author's name in it and then only put my name on the cover. The problem with that is that it implies I had no contribution to the creation of the original text, which I had. I even have a promotional video where my late co-author refers to some of these.

My questions are does the textbook company have a legal right to keep the order of the names as they are or to exclude my name from the title? Do I have legal recourse if they choose to try?

Thank you.


Asked on 5/13/10, 10:08 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Neil Rubin Neil S. Rubin, Attorney at Law, LLC

It all depends on the agreement(s) you entered into with the publisher. That language will control. If they are violating the agreement then yes, you have legal recourse.

But let me give you a "Practical Legal Solution": could you not ask (or persuade them with a lawyer) to rewrite the preface to explain that you were an original author and your recurring role in the subsequent revisions? I know, not as good as having top billing, but consider that the publisher is out to make money. If the publisher believes that your deceased colleague's name is better known and it will sell more books then you ultimately win. Right?

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Answered on 5/19/10, 5:37 pm


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