Share Rules & Governance
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AuthorsEngine.com (AE) is software and IP owned by Paybuyer LLC.
AE’s Purpose
To enable book authors to receive more income from their works.
Plan Is to Transfer AE's Ownership to Authors
Paybuyer's plan is to transfer ownership of AE to authors, in a benefit corporation.
The idea is somewhat analogous to ASCAP.
That way authors should, in theory, trust it, and keep expenses down, so that the maximum payments will flow to author recipients.
This plan is only a theory, though. If authors do not support AE by signing up and promoting it, they will not end up owning it, as explained below.
Share Grants
Eligible book authors receive 1,000 AE Coop Shares (Shares) for signing up.
Eligibility
To be eligible, an author must have sold at least 1,000 books, at $5 or more, in North American, the EU, the UK, Australia, and/or Japan.
Shares Are Gifts
The Shares that authors receive are gifts from Paybuyer LLC valued at $.00001 each.
There are 50,000,000 Shares. Paybuyer LLC should end up with 0 Shares.
Shares Are Not Transferable
An author’s Shares can’t be sold or given.
Shares Don’t Entail Liability or Tax Reporting
Shares are not shares of a C corp or LLC membership units.
Shares will require tax reporting only if they generate income.
Shares do not obligate a holder to pay any liabilities incurred by AE or Paybuyer LLC.
How Authors Assume Control
Paybuyer LLC's Managing Member, Michael Rossides, will manage AE until 25,001 eligible authors sign up, at which time Mr. Rossides will form an initial Board of Directors (BOD) for AuthorsEngine Benefit Corporation, composed of book authors.
The initial BOD will:
- Write the articles of incorporation.
- Convert Coop Shares into Benefit Corporation Shares.
Once the Articles are complete, Paybuyer LLC will transfer ownership of AE's software and other assets to AuthorsEngine Benefit Corporation.
Creator's Right to Test New Features
After ownership of AE is transferred to authors, Mr. Rossides will retain the right to test/deploy 15 new features on AE, provided the resources are available to create them.
Potential Payments to Creator
Two years after ownership of AE is transferred to authors, AE will pay Mr. Rossides a royalty equal to .025% of the payments distributed to authors. This royalty may be rescinded or modified by the BOD.
Eligible Authors Counted by Random Sampling
Shareholders will be randomly sampled to determine how many are actually eligible authors. This approximate count will be the census of eligible authors who have signed up with AE.
Author Ownership Void If Two Goals Are Not Met by 12/31/2025
- Goal 1: 25,000 eligible authors sign up on AE.
- Goal 2: $10,000,000 in total payments are made to authors.
If these goals aren't met, all Shares will be void and ownership of AE will remain with Paybuyer.
This Document Is Not a Contract
While the goal stated above is to transfer ownership of AE to authors, this document creates no obligation. If AE runs out of money before a transfer to authors occurs, it will be shut or sold. Thus, if authors want to ensure their ownership, they should claim Shares and follow the recommendations in this video.