Jon Tandler, Ryley Carlock & Applewhite Attorneys

How did you get your start in publishing law?
   While I was practicing corporate law in San Francisco in 1988,
I was asked to provide legal work for the publishers of a series of
popular coffee table books. They had just moved their company from
New York and wanted local counsel. Having no experience in publishing
or intellectual property, I said "yes!" I read books on copyright law and
started to work on projects; I oftentimes tapped into the expertise of their
New York counsel who still today is an icon in publishing law and a
mentor to me.

In 1990 the president of a new tradebook publisher, IDG Books
Worldwide, called and asked me to prepare his company's author publisher
agreement. IDG Books created and released the For Dummies series of
computer and general reference books several months later! I served as
IDG Books' outside publishing counsel from its inception through its sale to
Wiley Publishing over a decade later.

This was a tremendous learning experience. I first started
to teach publishing law in 1994. From my client work and presentations,
I've enjoyed meeting and working with professionals who work in many
different facets of the publishing industry.

Presented By Jon Tandler¹
Independent Book Publishers Association University 2010
New York, New York - May 25, 2010