Recently I read a non-fiction book from the 1970's that I think might
be developed into a film or theatrical property. This was not a
popular or widely-distributed book at the time. However, I think it
has potential and I wish to acquire the rights, develop a film
treatment, and then try sell this idea to a producer.

Please address the following:
 
1) How do I acquire the "rights" to that book and what do those "rights" entail?
2) Do I contact the author? The publisher? Or the author's agent - and
if so how do I identify this person?
3) What would be a typical cost for the rights, again understanding
that it was not a popular or significant book?
4) How long does one own those rights, e.g., would I have the rights
for one year and then have an option to renew those rights?
5) How do I find out the "history" of those rights, that is, whether
someone acquired the film rights in, say, 1985, and did not develop a
film from them?
6) Once I own the rights, may I sell those rights to a third party?
7) If someone else owns the rights, can I discover when that party
will forfeit those rights?

Please research these questions for me. 

Thank you.

Nickvitt,

1.  You need the "performance" rights to the book.  Here are some
pointers from an expert on how to acquire them:
http://www.marklitwak.com/articles/film/literary_material.html
You might want to get a copy of the book the above article is taken
from.  It has a lot of information about entertainment contracts,
including the one you'll need to acquire these rights.

2.  You contact whoever owns the performance rights.  The author of
the book may have assigned some or all of the rights to the work to
other people, so he or she's not necessarily the owner of the rights
you want.  How do you find out who owns the performance rights?  I'd
start by searching the Copyright Office's website:
http://www.copyright.gov/records/guide.html
Then I'd contact whoever is listed as the copyright owner, and ask
them who's got the performance rights.  You could also write to the
publishing company listed near the front of the book, and ask them who
to contact.

3.  This depends on your negotiation skills and whether or not the
rights owner agrees that the book wasn't popular or significant.  But
a thousand dollars, maybe slightly less, is a reasonable place to
start the bidding for a one-year option given your description of the
book.

4.  You and the owner of performance rights will negotiate the length
of your option, and the terms of renewal.  In other words, it's up to
the two of you.  You can set any terms you want - all that's required
is that both sides agree.

5.  There may be some relevant documents in the Copyright Office's
database relating to change of copyright ownership.  Or there may be
publicly available newspaper or magazine articles talking about the
acquisition of rights to the book.  Most likely, however, if the book
is obscure, you won't be able to get this information.  Contracts are
usually private.

6.  Yes, if your rights are transferable under your agreement with the
rights owner.  You should insert a clause into your agreement giving
you express permission to transfer the rights.

7.  The best way to do this might be to use your research from item #2
above.  Contact the copyright owner, and ask whether there's currently
an option agreement for the movie rights.  If so, ask them when the
current option will expire, and then contact them with your proposal
when it does.  One downside to this approach is that they may try to
play you against the current option holder to drive the price up.  But
we're talking about a fairly obscure non-fiction book from the 70's,
right?  The odds are probably low that it's currently under option.

Standard disclaimer: The above isn't legal advice, you should only get
legal advice from a lawyer who's agreed to represent you, this is only
provided for general information, and I'm not an official Google
researcher anyway.

Good luck,
Carl