RightsRadar

RightsRadar is a web app with optional desktop plugin that helps writers and editors quickly sanity-check legal and ethical landmines in fiction and nonfiction before submission. Upload a manuscript or paste chapters; the app flags potentially defamatory statements, privacy risks (real names, identifiable details), trademark misuse, lyrics/quotes that may require permissions, and “too-close-to-home” passages that resemble living individuals. It doesn’t pretend to replace a lawyer—its value is triage: it tells you what to worry about, why, and what to change. It generates a plain-English risk report, suggested rewrites to reduce exposure, and a checklist tailored to your publishing path (self-pub, small press, magazine, traditional). The brutal truth: most writers only learn these issues after a rejection, a takedown notice, or a scary email. This app aims to prevent that.