Lillibridge Press:
He stated that our contract is very fair.
Of course he did. He's your lawyer.
It's also disingenuous (again) for you to claim that your contract is fair because your lawyer told you so. You instruct your lawyer, your lawyer does not instruct you. Sure, your lawyer should be able to produce something in line with industry standards, but the fact that you can't name one publisher who uses the same concept may well lead someone to question your credibility.
The simple truth is that no commercial publisher is going to have a clause in their contract re ISBNs equivalent to what you have. It's not industry standard and it is not acceptable. I don't doubt that your lawyer may well have drafted it for vanity presses or self publishing companies, but I sincerely doubt he's done it for any publisher that pays author advances.
Lillibridge Press:
If we are not willing to restructure our agreement to your liking, we both walk away.
Does that mean that you are willing to negotiate out that ridiculous ISBN fee clause?
Lillibridge Press:
Unfortunately, he is bound by confidentiality and can't tell me what publisher has recoupable fees.
I understand client confidentiality because I'm a lawyer.
None of that should stop you from being able to identify another publisher who makes the same shoddy requirement.
Lillibridge Press:
I told him about the angst ridden words here concerning the copyright. His response: "You register the copyright in their name. If they don't want to pay you back, let them register it themselves."
Again, that may be standard for the vanity publishers or self publishing outfits that your attorney has worked for, but it's not par for the course for commercial publishers. It's disturbing rather than "angst ridden".
Lillibridge Press:
Our lawyer also advised me not to bother responding to this thread. He said, "Some writers are not going to like your contract."
Just to clarify - no writer who actually wants to make money from their book is going to like your contract.
By all means, flounce off under legal advisement. This thread will continue to show up on Google, thereby warning anyone who might be tempted to go with your amateurish operation.
MM
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