The Scam of “Book Licensing”

NOTE: Some scams have re-packaged “book licensing” as “Separation of Book Rights Order” or “Legal Registration for IP Protection” or “Independent Publishing Registration” or something similar. Don’t be fooled.

LICENSING: THE REALITY

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the common scam of “book returns insurance”, in which scammers take something real (book returnability, a normal element of book publishing and selling) and spin it into a nonexistent “service” (a kind of “insurance” product, which you supposedly have to buy if you want your books to be returnable) for which they can charge big bucks.

Today’s blog post focuses on the similarly deceptive scam of “book licensing”. Like “returns insurance”, this fictional item is based on something real (the licensing of rights that’s necessary for publication) that scammers have distorted into an imaginary requirement they can monetize (a book license you supposedly must obtain in order for your book to be published or re-published).

To be clear, there is no such thing as a “book license”–at least, not in the sense that scammers use the term, meaning an item like a driver’s license or a fishing license that you have to take steps to acquire and must have in order to do the thing associated with the license. As the copyright owner of your work (which you are, by law, from the moment you write down the words), you have the power to grant licenses for publication, but you do not have to obtain any kind of license or permission in order to do so. By re-framing licensing as something authors have to get, rather than something they are empowered to give, scammers turn the reality of licensing on its head.

(What about copyright registration? you may be thinking. Isn’t that a kind of license you have to obtain? Not in the same sense. Registration is an optional extra step that confers certain legal privileges, but has no bearing on your ability to grant publishing rights to third parties, which you can do whether you’ve registered copyright or not. Most countries have no official registration process, anyway; the US is an outlier in making registration a pre-requisite for legal action. For more information on copyright, registration, and other important matters, see my blog post, Rights vs Copyright: Untangling the Confusion, and the Copyright page of the Writer Beware website.)

BOOK LICENSING: THE SCAM

Many scammers present the supposed necessity of a “book license” as part of a package of services. Here’s an excerpt of a solicitation from Quantum Discovery, one tentacle of a much larger scam complex; it’s part of a pitch for a re-publication package priced at $899. The writer has been told that traditional publishers won’t consider self-published books, and in order for Quantum to “endorse” the writer to publishers, their book needs to be re-licensed under their own name as an “independently published author” (the writer is expected not to notice the illogic of this premise):

Book licensing is also often pitched as a stand-alone service–as in this example from The Literary Firm (which like Quantum Discovery is part of a large scam complex; I’ve seen dozens of examples of the solicitation below, sent out under a variety of different names). The claim: a Big 5 publisher is interested in the writer’s book, and is prepared to pay an option price [sic] of $525,000 plus royalties if the writer qualifies. The license is pitched as just one of several items the writer must submit, with three paragraphs of BS on why it’s supposedly necessary (note the driver’s license analogy):

Just as in the first example, what’s really being sold here is re-publication of the writer’s self-published book (that’s what’s meant by “licensed under your name”), with the same bogus claim about traditional publishers and some additional scare tactics invoking money grabs by self-pub companies. Similar obfuscation can be seen in the overview of the “licensing process” provided by The Literary Firm’s Colton Ramsey (see this blog post for mentions of The Literary Firm and Colton himself, who exists only inside the algorithms of Midjourney or another AI image generator).

Among other falsehoods, WIPO does not offer a registration process; and though WIPO administers a variety of intellectual property treaties, not one of them is called the WIPO CT. Notice also the generous window for delay offered by Step 4: important because it allows the scammer time to bombard the author with other opportunities to spend money before the author discovers that the whole thing is smoke and mirrors.

Here comes the price tag. It’s a deal! Three of the four steps are free!

Also charging $1,500 for book licensing: Gerald Timberlake, purported “major traditional publisher” acquisition specialist. The carrot: the prospect of a ridiculously inflated advance. If the writer balks at handing over four figures for the query and license, no matter–Gerald can turn around and try to sell book reviews or the Cinematic Book Trailer instead.

Some versions of the scam add an extra layer of fake importance by incorporating an “Intellectual Property Lawyer” into the mix–which also, of course, creates the opportunity to charge a larger fee. The scammer is betting the author doesn’t have easy access to an attorney (who would surely inform the author they were being rooked), and will be grateful for one to be provided. This solicitation impersonates a Lionsgate executive, who claims to be interested in turning the writer’s book into a film:

Still other scammers go beyond a mere license into something even more distant from reality: an “international seal” purportedly necessary for re-publication. This goes by various names; here’s one example, excerpted from a solicitation impersonating a reputable literary agent (the scammer that sends these out is an impersonation specialist):

An alternative formulation, from the same source:

And still another, from a bogus publishing contract created by scammer Stonehenge Literary & Media:

So what exactly is this very important international seal? Even the scammers don’t really know. Here’s the gobbledygook collation of falsehoods explanation one scammer sales rep offered to a persistent author:

The author was understandably still confused, so the sales rep tried again:

Sure cleared that up.

Seal fees that have been reported to me average around $1,800, though undoubtedly there are scammers who charge more. For the money, authors get this:

Needless to say, it’s completely fake, from the made-up “seal” image to the non-existent International Copyright Office to the never-heard-of-it International Copyrights Code to the fake registration number that borrows the format of US Copyright Office registration numbers even though this is supposedly an international document. The format of the entire thing, in fact, has been adapted from US copyright certificates, including the preamble and the Register signature–which, bizarrely, appears to be a clumsy partial attempt to imitate, or maybe just evoke, the signature of Shira Perlmutter, the current US Register of Copyrights. (For comparison, click here.)

PROTECTING YOURSELF

Thanks to how common book licensing scams have become, I often get emails like these from confused authors:

(The second email is from the author who received the fake S&S contract mentioned above; it demonstrates the circularity of impersonation scams, with the scammer, posing as S&S, referring the author to itself.)

A few tips for self-protection.

Educate yourself. Whether you’re self-publishing or seeking traditional publication, knowledge is your greatest ally and your best defense. I’m not minimizing how complicated, confusing, and opaque the publishing industry is; but so many authors dive into the publishing process without taking the time to do even the most minimal learning, and as the emails I receive every day attest, trying to learn on the fly is a recipe for getting scammed. The Writer Beware website (as distinct from this blog) is a good place to start.

Just as important, in this era of solicitation scams: beware out-of-the-blue emails and phone calls! Solicitation is the main way scammers like the ones mentioned above acquire clients, and any publishing- or movie rights-related email or phone call that isn’t directly traceable to a query or contact you yourself made should be treated with extreme caution. Book licensing scams are exclusively the province of companies on my Overseas Scams List; check it to see if the company that contacted you is included.

Book licensing scams are often a component of impersonation scams. My impersonation list identifies people and companies that are frequently impersonated; if the person or company that just emailed or called you is on it, be wary.

If you’re still in doubt, email me; I’ll tell you if I have anything helpful in my files.

And remember: you have the power to license your rights, and you don’t need to get–let alone pay for–a “license” or “seal” in order to do so.