Contracts People is a consultancy firm providing contracts support to a wide range of clients including publishers, literary agencies, packagers, IP and brand owners . My duties include reviewing, advising, drafting & negotiating: (i) all forms of author & illustrator head contract i.e. advance and royalty, assignment of copyright and flat fee (ii) addenda (iii) UK/US/translation licenses (iv) merchandising agreements (v) representation agreements and (vi) permission licenses. For more information visit: www.ContractsPeople.co.uk

Scholastic operate as both a licensee and as a licensor, this role encompasses management of both:as LICENSEE, duties include: (i) developing publishing proposals, presentations & business plans for prospective licensors e.g. Disney, Universal and Warner Bros; (ii) reviewing & negotiating deal memos, publishing contracts & addenda; (iii) managing & maintaining the relationship with existing licensing partners and sub-agents e.g. collating and submitting quarterly forecasts and sales reports and (iv) overseeing & ensuring contractual compliance with licensors’ brand guidelines; as LICENSOR, duties include: (i) reviewing proposals from prospective licensees; (ii) reviewing & negotiating deal memos, licensing contracts & addenda (e.g. theatre, exhibitions, merchandising etc.); (iii) overseeing the approval process for the various stages of licensees’ product development; (iv) liaising with our sub-agent and (v) trademark enforcement for the company’s key licensed brands e.g. Horrible Histories.

CONTRACTS - I started as Contracts Assistant and was promoted to Jnr Contracts Executive in 2012, then Contracts Executive in 2014 and finally Senior Contracts Executive 2016. Duties included: (i) reviewing, drafting & negotiating: author & illustrator head contracts, addenda, US licenses, translation licenses, permission licenses & inter-company agreements; (ii) trademark research; (iii) liaising with the company’s solicitors & consultants e.g. DLA Piper LLP & Contracts People; and (iv) departmental administration e.g. filing, maintaining logs, overseeing contractual signature process etc.PIRACY - I took on management of eBook Piracy for Scholastic, Mary Glasgow Magazines and Chicken House in 2014. Duties included: (i) seeking out and issuing cease and desists to individuals and/or websites hosting illegal/pirated versions of the companies' books and (ii) serving as an advisor to the Publishing Industry's trade body (the Publishers' Association) as a sitting member on their Digital Piracy Working Group where I advised on appropriate policy, worked with relevant IP law enforcement agencies in the UK and US (e.g. PIPCU and the FBI) and assisted with private legal actions (e.g. bringing site blocking actions in the UK High Court against key eBook piracy sites).