Seeking Clarity
New Medium T&Cs Raise Concerns
Opinions and request for clarification on new Medium terms and conditions for writers
I received a large number of email inquiries and social media posts from writers of my publication and the subscribed readers asking my opinion and guidance on the Medium terms and conditions announced today.
As it is not feasible to reply to many requests on time, I decided to share my thoughts in a short story.
I have a strong background in content strategy, development, and marketing. However, my expertise in legal matters is shaky. Therefore, I refrain from providing informed advice and guidance on this issue.
However, I can share my opinions based on my experience in content management as a published author and a prolific content developer.
Emails in my inbox quote this paragraph as a significant concern:
“Unless otherwise agreed in writing, by submitting, posting, or displaying content on or through the Services, you grant Medium a nonexclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, fully paid, and sublicensable license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, publicly perform and display your content and any name, username or likeness provided in connection with your content in all media formats and distribution methods now known or later developed without compensation to you.” Source link
A large number of questions can be encapsulated under three headings that helped me structure this story.
1 — “Unless otherwise agreed in writing.”
Several writers asked how they could write and agree with Medium on their content rights.
I don’t know the answer.
But, I am interested to know.
2 — “Sublicensable license to use”
Some writers and readers asked what “sublicensable license” meant.
I didn’t come across this term in my writing practice; however, it became a matter of concern for my invention portfolio.
Since this convoluted legal process was beyond the capabilities of my skill sets, I had to delegate the execution of licensing to patent attorneys.
You can learn more about the term “sublicensable license” defined in this resource.
3 — “Reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from”
These sets of words generated many questions and concerns by writers and readers. These words may have implications for the key stakeholders of the platform.
I don’t know these terms' implications and impact on our Medium content. However, I have some commercial experience that may shed some light on the point.
As a published author and content developer in specialized technical areas, my content was rebranded with compensation.
I can share some examples that happened over three decades ago when I was a sole trader.
The first example is related to an organization that purchased one of my educational materials, replaced my name with their company name, and released it to thousands of trainees in their course offerings.
Even though I adore my intellectual property (IP) like my baby, removing my name from the material did not bother me too much because I was compensated with agreed terms and conditions. Mentally, I convinced myself that the IP was still mine; all I sacrificed was my name on the material.
For the second example, another company approached me to purchase one of my leadership books to replace my name with the name of their CIO (Chief Information Officer). I agreed with the terms and conditions because they exceeded my expectations.
Based on the assessment of historical sales records of my books, I had a reasonable idea. Therefore, I did not hesitate to sign the contract with an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) and CA (confidentiality agreement).
Personal opinion
My response to the questions related to Medium T&C is, again, I don’t know the answer to how Medium would handle these legal matters.
My understanding is Medium compensates writers by the “reading time” of the subscribers.
As far as I know — unless there are unpublished exceptions — Medium is not paying an additional royalty to writers above the reading time of the subscribers. In other words, from my experience as an MPP (Medium Partner Program) member, Medium writers are paid from a shared pool contributed by the platform subscribers.
Thus, I am unsure whether this payment model can compensate writers for “reproducing, modifying, adapting, publishing, translating, and creating derivative works from” their stories.
Some writers and readers commented whether Medium planned to sell content of partnering writers to third parties.
I have no idea.
Some writers may have ideas. I will review potential content and provide an update to my readers.
For example, when I was reviewing stories on my publication page today, I came across interesting content on this topic.
This story provides the views of an accomplished writer and one of the editors of my publication(Alison Tennent).
Many writers are concerned and require clarity on new terms and conditions.
Medium has many writers with legal expertise. I look forward to the insights and guidance of expert writers on this topic, shedding light on the ambiguous points.
Learning from experts and gaining insights enhanced by collective points of views are my fervent desires. To this end, I welcome and look forward to comments from different perspectives.
About the Author
I am a technologist, postdoctoral researcher, published author, editor, and digital marketing strategist with four decades of industry experience.
I write articles for Medium, NewsBreak, and Vocal Media. On Medium, I established ILLUMINATION, ILLUMINATION-Curated, ILLUMINATION’ S MIRROR, ILLUMINATION Book Chapters, Technology Hits, and SYNERGY publications, supporting 15,000+ writers on Medium.
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