Jerry Mushin: Protecting his rights in a publishing contract 

Jerry Mushin is an author and academic based in New Zealand. He has published a novel, a series of children’s books, academic textbooks, articles and book reviews. 

Jerry first came to Arts Law in 2023 about a contractual dispute; he was experiencing issues including delays and unpaid royalties. Finding a solution was made even more difficult because Jerry was living in New Zealand while the other party was in Australia. 

Arts Law connected Jerry to solicitors who had an initial discussion with him about his contractual rights, mediation and the different options he could use to enforce his rights. Jerry described this conversation as ‘interesting, informative, and enjoyable’. 

Arts Law then referred Jerry to a lawyer who could continue to advise him in his negotiations to remedy the breaches of contract. As a result, Jerry received a significant proportion of the money that was owed to him. 

Jerry described his contractual dispute as ‘distressing’ and shared his opinion that: ‘If I had known earlier about the Arts Law Centre, most of this nightmare would have been avoided.’ 

It can be tricky for authors to raise contractual concerns. Arts Law can provide advice on the best way to navigate these difficult discussions and the options available for authors to protect their rights.  

If you are an author who would like advice from Arts Law, you can submit a legal query here.