IP: Supreme Court Victory Statement

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

> Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 08:34:15 -0700
> To: farber () linc cis upenn edu
> From: Denise Caruso <caruso () hybridvigor org>
> Subject: Supreme Court Victory Statement
>
> Dave,
>
> I think this is important; feel free to post to the list if you'd like.
>
> > Reply-To: "Jonathan Tasini" <jt () pipeline com>
> > From: "Jonathan Tasini" <jt () pipeline com>
> >
> > FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE  Contact: Jonathan Tasini
> >                                                              (212)-254-0279
> >                                                              Lindsay Barenz
> >                                                             (202)-842-3100
> >
> > National Writers Union and UAW hail Supreme Court ruling as victory for
> > creators and consumers
> >
> > Leaders of the National Writers Union and the International Union, UAW
> > described today's Supreme Court ruling-which upholds copyright protections
> > for free-lance writers-as a victory for creators and consumers.   Union
> > leaders also offered to begin negotiations immediately with the publishing
> > industry to resolve billions of dollars in potential liabilities created by
> > repeat violations of U.S. copyright law.
> >
> > "The Court has upheld the spirit of the Constitutional protection for
> > copyright, which was written for the benefit of individual authors," said
> > Jonathan Tasini, president of the National Writers Union (UAW Local 1981)
> > and the lead plaintiff in Tasini vs. New York Times.  "Now, it's time for
> > the media industry to pay creators their fair share and let's sit down
> > and negotiate over this today."
> >
> > By a 7-2 majority, the Court upheld a September 1999 unanimous ruling by the
> > U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit, which found that The New York Times and
> > publishers had committed copyright infringement when they resold freelance
> > newspaper and magazine articles, via electronic databases such as
> > LexisNexis, without asking permission or making additional payments to the
> > original authors.
> >
> > "We're proud to have supported our members in the National Writers Union in
> > their fight to be treated fairly by the publishing industry," said UAW
> > President Stephen P. Yokich.  "Today's decision paves the way for writers
> > and other creators to be fairly compensated for their work.  That's good
> > news all of us, because we all benefit when the legal protections of
> > copyright encourage the creation of new art, science, and literature."
> >
> > The International Union, UAW, has provided legal and financial support for
> > the groundbreaking litigation, which was filed by nine free-lance members of
> > UAW Local 1981, the National Writers Union, in 1993
> >
> > "Our message to the publishing industry now is:  let's negotiate," said UAW
> > Vice President Elizabeth Bunn, who directs the union's Technical, Office and
> > Professional Department.  "The New York Times and other publishers face
> > billions of dollars of potential liability for selling articles to which
> > they hold no copyright.    The way to settle these obligations is to meet at
> > the bargaining table, so we can find solutions that are fair to writers, to
> > the industry, and for consumers."
> >
> > The NWU, Tasini said, is already party to a class action lawsuit, which will
> > enforce the copyright protections affirmed today by the Supreme Court.
> >
> > "We want to settle past claims in a reasonable fashion, and establish a
> > mechanism so that free-lancers can be compensated fairly from now on," said
> > Tasini.   The Publication Rights Clearinghouse (PRC), said Tasini,
> > established by the NWU in 1993, offers a way for writers and publisher to
> > track the ownership of copyright, and payment for authorized re-sale of
> > copyrighted works.   Free-lance writers, whether or not they are NWU
> > members, can use the PRC to license their works by visiting www.nwu.org.
> >
> > Further details regarding the Tasini vs. New York Times litigation can be
> > found at: www.nwu.org/tvt/vichome.htm
> >
> > The National Writers Union has 7,000 members nationwide, including
> > journalists, book authors, technical writers and poets. It is the only union
> > dedicated solely to advancing the interests of freelance writers.
> >
> > The International Union, UAW has more than 1.3 million active and retired
> > members, including more than 100,00 members in its Technical, Office and
> > Professional Department.  In addition to free-lance writers, the UAW also
> > represents attorneys, clerical workers, educators, firefighters, graphic
> > designers, health care workers, librarians, museum workers, public
> > employees, and many others.



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