
We recognize the need in business today to have access to quick answers to complex questions related to legal issues. To this end, ECPA has contracted with industry legal expert Brian Flagler and Flagler Law Group to provide our members with access to legal answers.
Stan Jantz, ECPA President and CEO
I am happy to recommend the services of ECPA’s Legal Hotline. It was of great value when I used it to do a legal review of a forthcoming manuscript. The service was professional, prompt, and insightful so as to avoid any possible charges of libel or defamation.
Jim Weaver, Publisher, Weaver Book Company
ECPA Publishers Legal Hotline
is a service designed to provide ECPA members in the U.S. with ready
access to an experienced publishing law firm regarding questions in
the following Scope of Service:
- Publishing rights
- Questions regarding agreements with authors
- Copyright law
- Trademark law
- Digital publishing and eBooks
- Infringement
- Text and image permissions
- Libel/defamation
- Antitrust, including Robinson-Patman Act (price discrimination)
- Marketing and advertising clearance
- Subsidiary rights licensing
- Foreign translation licensing
Eligibility and Fees
The ECPA Publishers Legal Hotline
is intended for use by new ECPA members and smaller ECPA houses which do
not currently have access to experienced publishing counsel. To help
guide these members as they establish their publishing procedures,
navigate rights issues, and encounter other questions within the Scope
of Service, Flagler Law Group offers to answer questions posed by
subscribers via phone or email. A subscriber’s questions may use a total
of up to five (5) hours of attorney time. Flagler Law Group makes its
attorneys available to offer these hotline services at a Thirty Percent
(30%) discount off of their regular rates.
Using the ECPA Publishers Legal Hotline Service
Organizations subscribing to the ECPA Publishers Legal Hotline service
will have access to the hotline via phone or email. Answers will be
returned to the organization the same business day if possible or latest
the following business day, with the exception of limited office closures communicated in advance via email to subscribers. Matters that require research or specialized expertise from the national affiliate network will receive an acknowledgment and an estimated response time.
Scope of Service
Questions should be within the Scope of Service (as defined by bullet points above). Eligible questions in these topic areas should be capable of resolution via a telephone conversation or email. Drafting agreements and resolving disputes is outside the scope of the Hotline, but may be addressed as noted below.
If a subscribing organization poses a question to the Hotline which is
outside the Scope of Service, Flagler Law Group will indicate that
the question is outside the scope. For such matters, Flagler Law Group will offer to provide
representation for the matter pursuant to separate engagement or refer
the subscribing organization to a recommended attorney in the hotline’s
network of specialized attorneys. As a benefit to subscribers to the
service, the attorney will provide an initial consultation (up to 30
minutes) at no charge for matters that come through the hotline. If the
publisher chooses to engage Flagler Law Group or another recommended
attorney for the matter, the engagement will be billed at the firm’s
then-current rates.
Enrollment and Subscription Fees
To enroll in this valuable service, please contact ECPA.
Media Liability Discounts
Many media insurers give a discount to publishers that subscribe to a hotline service such as the ECPA Publishers Legal Hotline. Check with your media insurance to see if this subscription would pay for itself in the discount you would receive.
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