Do I have to repay the advance if I deliver the work late or not at all?

That depends on your publishing contract. In the model contract of the Auteursbond and the literary publishers the advance cannot be reclaimed, not even if the book sells poorly. There is one exception. If you do not deliver the manuscript on time, the publisher can give you formal notice in writing and a reasonable period. After that the publisher may rescind the contract. You then repay the advance within a month. The publisher can also claim damages, but under the model contract only for the costs incurred up to the rescission. With any other contract, what that contract says applies.

May the publisher release my work in a form that is not in the contract?

In principle not. Where an author, illustrator or translator assigns the copyright or grants an exclusive licence, the publisher only receives the powers expressly stated in the contract or that necessarily follow from it (Article 2(3) of the Dutch Copyright Act). For contracts from before 2026 the same applied to what was stated in the deed. An e-book or audiobook that is mentioned nowhere therefore requires fresh permission. If the contract does give the publisher the right to forms that did not yet exist when it was signed, and the publisher uses such a form, such as an audiobook with a voice made with AI, you are entitled to additional equitable remuneration (Article 25c(2) of the Dutch Copyright Act).

As a translator or illustrator on a fixed fee, do I get anything extra if the book sells well?

That is possible. The bestseller provision also applies to a fixed sum. If the agreed remuneration lags clearly behind what the work earns, you can claim additional equitable remuneration, from the publisher or from a third party to which the rights were passed on (Article 25d of the Dutch Copyright Act). Literary translators often agree this in advance. In the model contract for translations of the Auteursbond and the literary publishers, the fee counts as a non-returnable advance. If more than 3,000 copies are sold, the notes add a royalty of 2 per cent of the retail price. Above 35,000 that becomes 3 per cent. The translator also receives 10 per cent of what the publisher earns net from subsidiary rights.

Does copyright contract law also apply if I am employed by the publisher?

Usually not. The publisher is regarded as the author of what you write as an employee as part of your job, for example as editor of a teaching method, unless you agreed otherwise (Article 7 of the Dutch Copyright Act). For such work the rules on equitable remuneration, the annual statement, the bestseller provision and termination for insufficient exploitation do not apply (Article 25b(3) of the Dutch Copyright Act). If you write on commission as a self-employed author, they do apply. Where the relationship is unclear, the court looks at how you actually work, for example who gives the assignments and how you are paid. The title at the top of the contract does not decide that on its own.

We made the book together. Can one of us terminate the contract if the publisher does nothing with it?

That depends on whether your contributions can be used separately. With one text that two authors wrote together, one of them can only terminate with the other’s consent. If the other refuses and the first is disproportionately disadvantaged as a result, only the court can end the contract (Article 25e(2) of the Dutch Copyright Act). With contributions that can be used separately, as is often the case with text and illustrations, each author can terminate for their own contribution. In both cases the publisher must first have been given a reasonable period in writing to exploit the book after all.

Can the publisher terminate the contract if the book sells poorly?

Only if the contract or the law allows it. If the publisher stipulates a right to terminate early, the author automatically gets the same right on the same terms (Article 25f(3) of the Dutch Copyright Act). If the contract says nothing about termination and runs for as long as the copyright lasts, the publisher can, according to the Supreme Court, terminate it. That usually requires sufficiently compelling grounds (Supreme Court 7 July 2017, ECLI:NL:HR:2017:1270). The model contract for literary works gives the publisher another route. After two years the publisher may remainder an unsaleable book or dispose of the stock. The author then has four weeks to buy copies.

My publishing house has been sold or my book is moving to another publisher. What happens to my contract?

If someone buys the shares in the publishing house, your counterparty remains the same publishing house and your contract continues. If only the list moves, your contract has to be transferred. That is only possible with your cooperation (Article 6:159 of the Dutch Civil Code). The model contract for literary works requires your written consent for it. For a transfer within the same group you may only refuse on limited grounds. If the publisher only passes the rights on to another party, you keep your right to the annual statement, to additional remuneration for a bestseller and to getting your rights back against that party too (Articles 25ca, 25d and 25e of the Dutch Copyright Act).

I am the heir of a writer. What does that mean for the publishing contract?

The contract continues, with you as heir in place of the author. The model contract for literary works says so in as many words. Copyright lasts until seventy years after 1 January of the year following the author’s death (Article 37 of the Dutch Copyright Act). If you are an individual heir or legatee, you can also rely on copyright contract law yourself (Article 25b(4) of the Dutch Copyright Act). You are then entitled to the annual statement of what the work earns, to additional remuneration if it does unexpectedly well and to termination if the publisher stops publishing the work.

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> Copyright law
> Book publishing contract

Book publishing contract for authors and publishers

A signature on a publishing contract can outlast the author. In a book publishing contract, an author, illustrator or translator gives a publisher the right to publish a book, translation or teaching method, usually in return for an advance and a royalty on sales. Since 1 January 2026 this has to be in writing if the publisher acquires the copyright or an exclusive licence (Article 2(3) of the Dutch Copyright Act, in Dutch). A few rights cannot be taken from the author by any contract. The annual statement of what the work earns is one of them.

Have you been offered a publishing contract, or do you want your own contracts reviewed? Call 020 675 88 21 or get in touch.

Licence or assignment in a book publishing contract

If you sign an assignment, the copyright then belongs to the publisher, in full or for the part set out in the contract. With a licence it stays with you and the publisher may only do what has been agreed. Literary publishers usually work with the latter. In the model contract of the Dutch authors’ association (Auteursbond) and the literary publishers, the publisher receives an exclusive licence for the Dutch-language area. In print, as an e-book and as an audiobook.

Since 1 January 2026 an assignment or an exclusive licence has to be agreed in writing. An assignment also still requires a signed deed. Our article on the transfer of copyright since 2026 explains what counts as writing. The publisher only receives the powers expressly stated in the contract or that necessarily follow from it. A phrase such as “all rights, in all forms and languages” therefore gives a publisher less than it often assumes. State for each form what is allowed, for which language area and for how long.

The contract also has a consequence for the publisher that lies outside book sales. If the author has assigned or licensed the copyright to the publisher, the publisher can on that basis claim a share of the remuneration for uses of the work permitted by law, such as the private copying levy and the reprographic levy (Article 3 of the Dutch Copyright Act).

More about assigning copyright →

Advance and royalties in a book publishing contract

An advance is often paid in instalments, on signature and on delivery of the manuscript. The publisher recoups it from the royalties the book later earns, including those from subsidiary rights. Only once the advance has earned out does a further payment follow. If the book sells less than expected, the author as a rule keeps the advance.

The royalty is a percentage per format. In the model contract it is calculated for a printed book on the retail price excluding VAT. For an e-book or audiobook it is what the publisher earns net. The notes to the model contract set standards from which the parties may not depart to the author’s disadvantage. For a paperback or hardback that is 10 per cent up to 4,000 copies, rising to 17.5 per cent above 100,000. For an e-book or audiobook sold under licence it is 25 per cent of net receipts. There are separate model contracts for translations and for children’s books.

Whatever figures the contract contains, the law requires the remuneration to be equitable (Article 25c(1) of the Dutch Copyright Act). If an association of self-employed authors negotiated the remuneration with an exploiting party or an association of exploiting parties, it counts as equitable until the contrary is shown. For an educational title or a professional book, a fixed fee often takes the place of a royalty. That amount too must be equitable.

Who sells the translation, film and audio rights to a book

When a foreign publisher or a film producer shows interest, the subsidiary rights come into play. In most contracts the publisher sells them and shares the proceeds with the author. The model contract assumes an equal split where the publisher exploits a right itself without a set percentage. Where a third party exploits it, the notes give 60 per cent for the author as the standard. Under the model contract, a film adaptation, a stage adaptation or an audiobook with another publisher requires the author’s written consent.

With a film adaptation there is more at stake than the purchase price. Also record whether the author may see the script and what happens to the rights if the film is not made within the agreed time. Under film law you can read how a producer secures those rights.

Clauses on AI are new. They set out, for example, whether the author may use AI in writing, who is liable if a text turns out to resemble existing work and who makes the reservation against use of the book for AI training. Sample clauses are in our article on AI in the author’s contract.

What a publisher must tell you each year about the revenue

The publisher must inform the author at least once a year about how the work is exploited, what it earns and what remuneration the author is owed (Article 25ca of the Dutch Copyright Act). That information must be up to date, relevant and complete. If the publisher has granted a licence to a foreign publisher and information is missing as a result, that foreign publisher must supply it itself on request. Under the model contract the statement for the previous calendar year arrives by 1 May at the latest. Once a year the author may have a registered accountant inspect the books.

For a publisher with a list of hundreds of titles, this is work that comes back every year. The law has two exceptions. If an author’s contribution to the whole is not significant, the obligation lapses, unless that author needs the information to rely on the bestseller provision. Where the administrative burden is disproportionate to what the work earns, the information that can reasonably be expected is enough.

If a book does far better than expected when the contract was signed and the author’s remuneration lags behind the revenue, the author can claim additional remuneration (Article 25d). These rights also apply if the contract chooses a foreign law, as long as the book is exploited wholly or mainly in the Netherlands. Our article on the transparency obligation for authors sets out what you can ask for as an author. The publisher’s side is covered in the article for exploiting parties.

Getting your rights back when your book is out of print or the publisher does nothing

The author can terminate the contract if the publisher does not bring the work to market sufficiently within a reasonable time, or later stops doing so (Article 25e of the Dutch Copyright Act). Until 2026 this was called rescission. First you give the publisher a reasonable period in writing to exploit the work after all. Ask at the same time for a written statement of what is happening with the work. You are entitled to one. If exploitation still does not follow, you terminate in writing. You can also terminate in part, for example by ending only the exclusivity or by taking back only the rights for a language area in which nothing is happening. The publisher must then return the copyright within a reasonable time. If it does not, the court can set a sum, in addition to any damages.

The contract determines when a book counts as out of print. Under the model contract the publisher must prevent a book from being unavailable for more than a year. The author can terminate if that happens anyway and the publisher does not commit to a new edition, or if the annual fee is no more than 200 euros (indexed). Record what counts as available, because with an e-book or print on demand a book can always seem to be in stock.

A publishing contract can also end outside that scheme. In 2017 the Dutch Supreme Court ruled on Golden Earring’s music publishing contracts, which had been concluded for the term of copyright. Such a contract counts as an agreement for an indefinite period and can in principle be terminated, usually only on sufficiently compelling grounds. That requirement weighs less heavily the longer the contract has run and the more the publisher’s investment has been recouped. After termination the publisher must, where necessary, transfer the rights back (Supreme Court 7 July 2017, ECLI:NL:HR:2017:1270, in Dutch). The case predates the 2015 Act, but the reasoning concerns exploitation contracts in general.

When you translate, illustrate or co-write for a publisher

Many books are made on commission. A translator is offered a title, an illustrator draws a picture book to someone else’s text and a team of authors writes a teaching method. A publisher such as ThiemeMeulenhoff puts the outline of each new method to teachers and authors. Making it then takes about two years.

If you work on commission as a self-employed author, the copyright stays with you until you assign it in writing. For employees it is different. The publisher is regarded as the author of what an employee writes as part of the job, unless something else was agreed (Article 7 of the Dutch Copyright Act). For a method made up of contributions from many authors, the publisher can also be the author of the whole if the work was created under its direction and supervision. Each author then keeps the copyright in their own contribution (Article 5).

A method often stays in use for years, with new editions revised by others. So agree in advance who contributes what, whether the publisher may have a later edition adapted by other authors and how the original authors are then credited. Waiving the right to object to changes is possible, but only for changes to the work or its title. Against an adaptation that harms your honour or reputation you can always take action (Article 25). Whether you receive a fixed fee or a royalty also makes a difference to what you earn if the method is used in schools for years.

An option on your next book cannot be unlimited

Some publishers stipulate a first right to the author’s next work. The model contract has no such option. Under that contract the author is free to place new work with another publisher. If an option is included anyway, its term must be reasonable and clear. The author can have a clause set aside that ties up the exploitation of future works for an unreasonably long or insufficiently defined period (Article 25f(1) of the Dutch Copyright Act). The same applies to any other clause that is unreasonably onerous for the author, given the contract as a whole, the way it came about and the interests of both parties.

The author cannot waive these rules. A dispute about the remuneration, the bestseller provision, termination or an onerous clause can go to the Dutch disputes committee for copyright contract law, the Geschillencommissie Auteurscontractenrecht. If neither party goes to court within three months of the decision, it counts as agreed between the parties (Article 25g).

Lawyer for your book publishing contract

Liaise acts for authors and for the publishers that bring out their work. Authors, translators and illustrators ask us to read a contract before they sign. We then tell them where it departs from what is usual in the trade and where negotiating makes sense. For talent agency MVP Management we review the major contracts that presenters and journalists conclude with broadcasters, publishers and media companies. For publishers we draft publishing agreements. We also check whether existing contracts and the annual statement fit the rules that have applied since 2026.

More about copyright law →

Would you like a publishing contract drafted or reviewed? Call 020 675 88 21 or send a message.

Practice area

Frequently asked questions about the book publishing contract

That depends on your publishing contract. In the model contract of the Auteursbond and the literary publishers the advance cannot be reclaimed, not even if the book sells poorly. There is one exception. If you do not deliver the manuscript on time, the publisher can give you formal notice in writing and a reasonable period. After that the publisher may rescind the contract. You then repay the advance within a month. The publisher can also claim damages, but under the model contract only for the costs incurred up to the rescission. With any other contract, what that contract says applies.
In principle not. Where an author, illustrator or translator assigns the copyright or grants an exclusive licence, the publisher only receives the powers expressly stated in the contract or that necessarily follow from it (Article 2(3) of the Dutch Copyright Act). For contracts from before 2026 the same applied to what was stated in the deed. An e-book or audiobook that is mentioned nowhere therefore requires fresh permission. If the contract does give the publisher the right to forms that did not yet exist when it was signed, and the publisher uses such a form, such as an audiobook with a voice made with AI, you are entitled to additional equitable remuneration (Article 25c(2) of the Dutch Copyright Act).
That is possible. The bestseller provision also applies to a fixed sum. If the agreed remuneration lags clearly behind what the work earns, you can claim additional equitable remuneration, from the publisher or from a third party to which the rights were passed on (Article 25d of the Dutch Copyright Act). Literary translators often agree this in advance. In the model contract for translations of the Auteursbond and the literary publishers, the fee counts as a non-returnable advance. If more than 3,000 copies are sold, the notes add a royalty of 2 per cent of the retail price. Above 35,000 that becomes 3 per cent. The translator also receives 10 per cent of what the publisher earns net from subsidiary rights.
Usually not. The publisher is regarded as the author of what you write as an employee as part of your job, for example as editor of a teaching method, unless you agreed otherwise (Article 7 of the Dutch Copyright Act). For such work the rules on equitable remuneration, the annual statement, the bestseller provision and termination for insufficient exploitation do not apply (Article 25b(3) of the Dutch Copyright Act). If you write on commission as a self-employed author, they do apply. Where the relationship is unclear, the court looks at how you actually work, for example who gives the assignments and how you are paid. The title at the top of the contract does not decide that on its own.
That depends on whether your contributions can be used separately. With one text that two authors wrote together, one of them can only terminate with the other’s consent. If the other refuses and the first is disproportionately disadvantaged as a result, only the court can end the contract (Article 25e(2) of the Dutch Copyright Act). With contributions that can be used separately, as is often the case with text and illustrations, each author can terminate for their own contribution. In both cases the publisher must first have been given a reasonable period in writing to exploit the book after all.
Only if the contract or the law allows it. If the publisher stipulates a right to terminate early, the author automatically gets the same right on the same terms (Article 25f(3) of the Dutch Copyright Act). If the contract says nothing about termination and runs for as long as the copyright lasts, the publisher can, according to the Supreme Court, terminate it. That usually requires sufficiently compelling grounds (Supreme Court 7 July 2017, ECLI:NL:HR:2017:1270). The model contract for literary works gives the publisher another route. After two years the publisher may remainder an unsaleable book or dispose of the stock. The author then has four weeks to buy copies.
If someone buys the shares in the publishing house, your counterparty remains the same publishing house and your contract continues. If only the list moves, your contract has to be transferred. That is only possible with your cooperation (Article 6:159 of the Dutch Civil Code). The model contract for literary works requires your written consent for it. For a transfer within the same group you may only refuse on limited grounds. If the publisher only passes the rights on to another party, you keep your right to the annual statement, to additional remuneration for a bestseller and to getting your rights back against that party too (Articles 25ca, 25d and 25e of the Dutch Copyright Act).
The contract continues, with you as heir in place of the author. The model contract for literary works says so in as many words. Copyright lasts until seventy years after 1 January of the year following the author’s death (Article 37 of the Dutch Copyright Act). If you are an individual heir or legatee, you can also rely on copyright contract law yourself (Article 25b(4) of the Dutch Copyright Act). You are then entitled to the annual statement of what the work earns, to additional remuneration if it does unexpectedly well and to termination if the publisher stops publishing the work.