NYT vs Tasini: An Update

Several hundred writers and photographers protested outside The New York Times building in midtown Manhattan on July 19. The protest ? sponsored by the National Writer's Union ? was filled with representatives from trade and creative organizations. Among the featured speakers at the protest were novelist Erica Jong and Jonathan Tasini, president of the Writer's Union and lead plaintiff in the New York Times v. Tasini case, which was decided in the writers' favor by the Supreme Court in June. The Supreme Court ruled that the Times and other publishers had infringed the plaintiffs' copyright by using their articles on electronic databases without permission. The Times has announced it will destroy the articles rather than pay back royalties.

The American Society of Media Photographers presented a special citation to the Register of Copyrights, Marybeth Peters, for her "exemplary fairness to photographers." Peters wrote a legal opinion in support of the freelancers in The New York Times v. Tasini case. Her statement went on the record and was subsequently quoted in the US Supreme Court by Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who pointed out that the federal copyright office sided with the freelancers. See Peters' statement in the "Special Announcements" section at www.asmp.org