If he shops it

There might seem little more to say about the O.J. Simpson/Judith Regan book and TV special, "If I Did It," canceled last week by Rupert Murdoch, whose News Corp. owns publisher HarperCollins and Fox TV. However, I notice everyone is talking about the possible bootlegging of the printed books. Also, the family of Ron Goldman, killed along with Simpson's ex-wife Nichole Brown Simpson, is trying to get rights to the book from NewsCorp. However, it seems clear that the fate of the book will be up to the copyright-holder, and that probably isn't NewsCorp.

Regan said she signed a contract with a third party which controls the rights to the Simpson story. Publishing lawyers tell me that a standard contract would allow a publisher to get out of a deal if a manuscript is found to be plagiarized, fraudulent, libelous, or otherwise trespasses on anyone's legal rights. Or if, when the manuscript is turned in, it is found to be unpublishable for reasons of quality.

Apparently, neither condition applied here. Murdoch said simply that the project was "ill-considered." There was no hint of libel or plagiarism, and HarperCollins clearly found the manuscript to be acceptable; otherwise, it would not have paid the advance, reportedly $3.5 million, and sent the book to the printer. If a publisher breaches a contract absent those conditions, publishing lawyers say, it loses its advance and the rights normally revert to the author.

If that is true, bootleg copies of "If I Did It" should have little value. The third party whose contract was breached would be free to shop the manuscript somewhere else. That happened with historian Michael Bellesiles's book, "Arming America," which was cancelled in 2002 by Alfred A. Knopf and printed books destroyed after the author was found to have falsified some research. The copyright reverted to Bellesiles and the book was republished the next year by Soft Skull Press.

Regardless of what happens to the Fox TV special, it's hard to believe something like that won't happen, sooner or later, with the book version of "If I Did It." A new publisher won't even need booksellers, most of whom won't want to carry the book. With such a notorious product, it can sell it by mail, and cut out the middleman.