I'm a author and I published my book with a company called Tate publishing. In the contract I paid for a web page to go with the publishing of my book. Tate publishing is no longer a company and when they went down so did my web page. Is it right to take something I paid for and worked on? I want my web page back for my book but I don't know what to do and they want me to sign something that says they aren't responsible for anything and they won't be giving me my contract stuff unless I pay more money. Please help me!!!!
This sounds very fishy. You will want an attorney experienced in publishing and intellectual property matters to review your agreement. You may also want to contact Wyoming's consumer affairs regulators to file a complaint.
You indicate that you had a "contract" but that the other company apparently no longer exists.
You also indicate that "they want me to sign something".
If the other company no longer exists, who is "they"?
You should discuss with an intellectual property attorney in a private consultation.
Definitely review your contract - it should state who owns the content of the website. Did you buy the domain name or did they? And I would not sign any new documents without first having an attorney review them. Your original contract should cover this situation and, if it doesn't, you should definitely be able to include terms you want/need - especially since they are demanding more funds.
There is nothing you can do if a company you contracted with goes out of business except hop on line as another creditor in their bankruptcy proceeding. In most cases, the assets of the company, which presumably would include current outstanding contracts for services, would be assigned to another entity, but not necessarily.
I'm not what the rest of your posting is referring to when you say "I want my web page back for my book but I don't know what to do and they want me to sign something that says they aren't responsible for anything and they won't be giving me my contract stuff unless I pay more money."
I suggest that you consult with a lawyer in private and discuss your objectives in more detail. You can start by calling around to several for a free phone consultation, get some insights then pick the best fit to work with.
Best regards,
Frank
Natoli-Legal, LLC
