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SLA COMMENTS ON TASINI V. NEW YORK TIMES
INFORMATION PROFESSIONALS URGE AUTHORS, PUBLISHERS TO SETTLE DIFFERENCES IN COPYRIGHT DISPUTE
Washington, DC, February 1, 2001 — The Board of Directors of the Special Libraries Association (SLA) called today for publishers and authors to seek consensus through negotiations, rather than wait for the Supreme Court to reach a decision in the matter of Tasini et al v. New York Times.
Tasini vs. The New York Times is the landmark lawsuit brought by members of the National Writers Union against The New York Times Company, Newsday Inc., Time Inc., Lexis-Nexis, and University Microfilms Inc., charging copyright violation regarding the electronic reuse of work produced and sold on a freelance basis. The U.S. Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit, overturned a lower court ruling in favor of the publishers. The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review the case.
The SLA Board of Directors cited several issues as factors in its decision:
• That copyright law was truly intended to be balanced “to promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries” (U.S. Constitution, Article I, Section 8).
• That SLA’s membership is diverse in its practices and interests, including many information professionals who are authors or work for publishing interests.
• That a finding in support of the authors could set in motion several responses by the publishing community, including price increases to offset increased fees for use of freelance articles, or the removal of a substantial portion of archived articles.
• That a decision by the Supreme Court - regardless of the outcome - would be damaging to the global community of information users. A victory by the publishers would produce a chilling effect on the creation of articles by freelance writers, while a finding in favor of the authors would likely mean higher costs and/or reduced access for the most important players in the information game - the users.
In echoing the sentiments of the SLA Board, David R. Bender, Ph.D., the Association’s executive director, emphasized that the parties need to put aside their commercial interests and reach a compromise that will benefit everyone. “We believe the publishers and writers are in an excellent position to resolve this matter without the Supreme Court’s intervention, and the world community of information professionals and their users deserve that kind of outcome.” When asked about his thoughts on the possibility of a compromise, Bender observed that “we certainly appreciate that the writers deserve to be compensated for their work, and that the publishers want to limit their exposure in this situation; but they must strive to find a consensus, for a decision by the court could possibly be a devastating blow to the flow of information globally.”
About SLA: Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the Special Libraries Association (SLA) is an international association representing the interests of thousands of information professionals in 60 countries. Special librarians are information resource experts who collect, analyze, evaluate, package and disseminate information to facilitate accurate decision-making in corporate, academic, and government settings. SLA offers a variety of programs and services designed to aid its members in serving their customers more effectively and succeed in the competitive global information management marketplace.
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