Clearly, it was only a fortuitous set of circumstances that brought Luserke's actions to light. Other thieves posing as agents would be very difficult to detect, especially in countries with newer, less stable free markets. Recommendations SFWA has concluded that the possibility of thefts of this nature represents a very serious threat to its members. As a result, it is issuing a call to all European publishers of American works to tighten their procedures. In investigating the case of Uwe Luserke, SFWA realized that Luserke's actions were facilitated by the way rights sales are often handled in Europe.
Agents routinely sign contracts.
Rights are frequently transferred with little or no paperwork. Stories, and, often, novels, are sold en masse with at most a letter of agreement between the publisher and the agent. Publishers feel no obligation to notify authors of the publication of their novels or stories. First and foremost, SFWA calls for an end to the practice of allowing agents to sign novel contracts in place of the authors. In today's global community, it is a simple matter for a publisher to FedEx, fax, or e-mail a contract directly to the author for their signature.