The “warranties and representations” clause is an essential part of your publishing contract. This is where you promise the publisher that the work you submit is your own original creation and that your work doesn't violate another's copyright, right of privacy, libel, or other laws. You also are promising that, as the proper owner of your material and its copyright, you are free to grant your rights to the publisher.

The whole purpose of the warranties clause is to protect the publisher against plagiarism. This has become an increasingly vexing problem in all fields, from academia to journalism to business. Publishers no longer can assume that your work is your own; they want a legally binding assurance that it is. Some even include warnings in their contracts that they use special software or other methods to detect plagiarism from any source, including the Internet.

The dire consequences of submitting plagiarized work cannot be overstated. At the very least, you'll severely cripple your reputation and any future you might have as a book author. You also run the risk of financial ruin, from which you may never recover. Your best protection is to be obsessively meticulous about your work to ensure that it does not violate anyone's intellectual or civil rights.