Legal Question in Intellectual Property in France

Re: foreign language cntract for book publishing

A contract under US law requires a "meeting of the minds" to be valid. If the author never read, or could not read the contract, then there was never an "agreement" on those terms. The paper contract is a formal memorialization of what was "decided" and "agreed" upon, usually done verbally and then transposed onto paper. If the paper document is different from what was agreed upon by the parties, the verbal understanding applies. Contract law is a difficult subject, and if the parties were represented by counsel, this would also have a bearing on contract validity.

It boils down to what was the underatanding of the parties, and what rights and obligations does each side have.

Note: The information that the author received was false. Would you buy a house or do anything important involving your legal rights without understanding what you are signing? The failure to provide an English translation should be viewed as a red flag when dealing with other countries. After all, English (and French) is used in virtually all interantional agreements. A basic translation of their contract was deliberately withheld in order to avoid further negotiations. These publishers contracts are usually extremely one-sided, and often provide little in the way of safe-guards for authors.

Consider them in breach, notify them that they are "fired", and then negotiate your own best deal in the US. Good luck.