National Writers Union letter in New York Times

FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES FEBRUARY 18, 1995   To the Editor:  

"Growing Threat of Cyberthieves in the Intellectual Marketplace" (Arts pages, Feb. 11) highlights how digital technologies facilitate blatant piracy. The permanent danger to copyright, however, lies in the more insidious practices of corporations in today's conglomerated communications industries -- piracy in the second and third degrees, if you will.  

Piracy in the second degree refers to the attempt by these corporations to grab rights in the new media that were not granted or often not even contemplated in their contracts with creators.  

Recently, freelance writers for newspapers and magazines have discovered that their copyrighted works are being marketed on full-text electronic databases, without their permission and without their being compensated. Jonathan Tasini, National Writers Union president, is the lead plaintiff in a pending Federal lawsuit over this very issue; one of the defendants is the New York Times Company.  

Piracy in the third degree refers to the response to the Tasini suit and similar efforts by creators to protect their rights. Leveraging their power and the antiquated state of labor and antitrust law, these corporations are now demanding unprecedented contract language that, for the same fees, gives them the rights to the material in every medium heretofore or hereinafter invented, no questions asked. In today's temp-driven, no-benefits labor market, few writers (or photographers, graphic artists, videographers and musicians) can afford to walk away from these deals. But are they in the public interest? The Constitution says not.  

Irvin Muchnick
Assistant Director
National Writers Union
Oakland, Calif., Feb. 11, 1995

<irvmuch[_at_]netcom.com> Received on Sat Feb 18 1995 - 07:56:14 GMT