SFWA has posted an alert regarding the so-called “interminable agency clauses” that are beginning to appear in some publishers’ contracts and in the author-agent agreements of certain agencies. Such clauses give the agency the right to represent a book not just for the duration of the book contract, but for the duration of copyright. The Authors Guild provides a similar warning.
For a detailed discussion of the interminable agency clause and its dangers, including sample contract language, see the Writer Beware blog.