Current News and Past News Briefs

Registering Copyright Pays

Newsweek has settled with a freelance writer for using her "My Turn" column beyond its pages. The writer had submitted the manuscript topped with "One-time print use only. All rights reserved." After a rush to publication, the magazine's standard contract appeared, demanding various extra, continuing rights but with no compensation beyond the initial column fee. The writer declined to sign and, as a protective move, registered the copyright. When she learned that her piece had been sublicensed to a newspaper syndicate, she asked for another $1,000. When she then learned that the piece was also being displayed on America Online, she escalated to $2,000 extra.

Newsweek paid.

Earlier this year, Newsweek's parent, the Washington Post, ran into a similar problem when a writer complained about illicit database sublicensing of a freelance article. The Post first offered $100 in settlement but finally agreed to pay $500 and yank the piece from the databases.

And the longtime garden columnist for the Post has canceled his column in a dispute over e-rights, according to the newspa per. In a box accompanying Jack Eden's June 30 "Garden of Eden" column, the paper told readers of its new World Wide Web venture, adding that "The Post has informed freelance writers that the newspaper's purchase of their work also includes the newspaper's right to use the articles on the Internet site with no additional compensation. Eden has declined to continue writing the column under these terms."

No mention of the freelance articles and columns the Post has been selling for years via electronic databases--the kind it just paid a writer $500 for selling without permission....
(ASJA Contracts Watch)

A New Fashion?

Hearst magazines generally follow the company hard line: all electronic rights and other freebies or no deal. But a recent Town & Country article contract gives the magazine only first North American print rights. Lined out were nonprint rights, in current and future technologies, and rights to reuse the piece in anthologies, reprints, advertising, and promotion. Editing is to be done with the author's consent and the author agrees only to use "reasonable care" to avoid libel and the like. A fair deal. Lesson: When the editor of a Hearst magazine says "We can't change the contract," what is meant is "We won't change it for you."

Many freelancers have walked away from assignments offered by Hearst magazines, or have learned to avoid them in the first place, because Hearst editors were apparently powerless to make accommodations. Does the Town & Country development indicate, at last, a new reasonableness at Hearst?
(ASJA Contracts Watch)

Music to their Ears

Musicians are finding the Internet glass both half empty and half full, according to their performing rights organizations and unions. While they are finding increased revenue from new licens ing agreements negotiated by Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) and the American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers (ASCAP), they're also finding it difficult to monitor the new outlets.

"With the radio industry, you can just call the FCC and determine the number of radio stations in existence," Bennett Lincoff, director of legal affairs at ASCAP, told Reuters. "There is really no handle on how many Web sites there are and even less of a handle on how many Web sites are performing music." There are now an estimated 72,000 music sites on the Internet. "Many of these are startup operations," Lincoff said. "You could have gone out and done your own site yesterday."

Online outlets are only one of many new media opening to arts workers. The performers' unions are struggling to find a balance between keeping the new markets open and ensuring their members rights and royalties are honored.

"It is the constant battle," said Dennis Dreith, president of the Recording Musicians Assn., the studio musicians arm affiliated with the American Federation of Musicians. "As soon as one of the ancillary markets becomes important, they want it all back."
(Reuters/Variety)

Buying Right

The New Yorker has joined Brides magazine, another Advance Publications periodical (which also includes Parade, American City Business Journals, and Conde Nast titles) in splitting fees to include payment for electronic rights. Instead of its usual insistence that a single price must buy a package of rights, The New Yorker recently signed up an article under an agreement that says part of the fee buys use in the print magazine, part buys electronic and certain other secondary rights. Magazines in the group have a distance to go before they offer a proper, accept able deal, but it's a start.
(ASJA Contracts Watch)

Think About It ...

Does storing information from the World Wide Web on a computer when it is not connected to the Web violate any copyright laws? Probably not, an attorney says, particularly since the cre ators of information typically think about how people use the material they distribute on the global data network.

Well-established doctrines of "fair use" and "implied license" in print and broadcast information would likely carry into cyberspace.

"Any Web site developer today is well aware of the existence of offline software and it would not be a stretch for courts to take that knowledge as an implied license to individuals using that software," said Gary Paranzino, an attorney who studies Internet issues at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, a New York law firm.

The distinction between using data online and offline is chiefly about where the data resides when it is seen.

A person reading a Web page while online downloads that information to a portion of their computer known as the memory cache. When they're done, or switch to another page, the cache is changed and, while the previous information may stay in for a little bit, usually emptied when they log off.

Someone reading Web information offline has downloaded it to the hard drive of their computer, where storage can be more permanent.

Developers of offline software draw parallels between their products and the videotape recorder. Paranzino said the same legal precedents that apply to home videotaping may be carried over to downloading of Web material.

More complex legal questions may develop over the copying of Web information that is done by some online access providers to provide faster downloading to their customers and also over the copying that is done by Web browsing software as a way to speed performance.

"Many of the new software programs are writing single or even multiple copies of information to users' hard drives, often without their knowledge," he said. "The copyright law will be tested by the issue of this copying."
(Associated Press)

Color on the Web: Match and Set!

Pantone is preparing to turn its colormanagement capabilities to the Internet with ColorWeb, a $29.95 utility slated to ship at the August Macworld Expo in Boston. ColorWeb will comprise a system-level color picker and a swatchbook of colors with match ing RGB, CMYK, and HTML hexadecimal values. Pantone will also include values for Hexachrome, the company's six-color process, that lets users of Adobe Photoshop or compatible graphics appli cations manipulate orange and green as well as standard CMYK channels. (MacWeek)

In Black and White--and Read All Over

Young adults have not abandoned the printed word, according to a study by two newspaper organizations.

Forty-two percent of people in the 16-29, or "Generation X," group questioned said they read newspapers daily or nearly every day, according to the recent study. Twenty-four percent of the young people polled said they read a newspaper every day, 18 percent said almost every day, 21 percent said two or three times a week and 11 percent said only on Sundays. Twenty-one percent said seldom, 4 percent never.

"This study shows that the `MTV Generation' didn't give up reading newspapers in exchange for watching television and illustrates that young people rely on newspapers for unique information other media can't provide," said John F. Sturm, president of the Newspaper Association of America. The NAA cosponsored the research with the American Society of Newspaper Editors.

The research suggested that Generation X members watch only a little more television than do baby boomers, but they listen to radio more, read more magazines and see more movies.

"Though the numbers are encouraging, the newspaper industry should not take this market segment for granted," Miles Groves, chief economist for the NAA, said. "This is a very media-savvy group of people."

The Rights Stuff

A new online software package produced by Applied Graphics Tech nologies enables photographers and other creative professionals both to create an individual "micro-site" to display their work on the World Wide Web and to protect their copyrights.

The AGT portfolio templates offer advanced features including a professional design, a brief audio message, a Macromedia Shockwave "slide show" of the portfolio images, an automatic e-mail response form, and a watermark on all high-resolution images to prevent their unauthorized use. A companion product that presents a "slide show" of images on a floppy disk is also available.

Called "FolioNet," the on-line portfolio service eliminates the need for creative professionals to master Internet program ming languages. Each site is assigned a unique URL, or Internet "address," which can be printed on an artist's business card and distributed to potential clients through direct mail.

Also available is FolioDisk, which presents images on a 3.5" floppy disk or CD in a slide-show fashion, along with a title screen and contact information. The images are displayed auto matically, one after the other, for a few seconds each. Viewers need only click on the computer mouse to stop or restart the slide show. (PRNewswire)

Treat Your Artists Well ...

Computer publisher Ziff-Davis is doing well ... because it treats its editorial staff well.

That's the publishing company's own conclusion in a review of recent extraordinary circulation increases at its worldwide publications. During 1995 the circulation of its 22 computer publications grew 14.8 percent, to more than 5.7 million world wide.

Eric Hippeau, Chairman and CEO of Ziff-Davis, says, "We have more than 500 full-time editors and lab technicians around the globe and we provide them with the most advanced product testing labs and the best benchmarks in the world. This investment in editorial content is the real secret of our continued circulation growth."

The evidence that Ziff-Davis puts editorial first is overwhelming. The company's technical journalists produced roughly 25,000 pages of editorial content last year--about 500 pages every week. While it's easier to measure the large quantity of editorial pages, the company's large editorial staff generates an average of only a page-a-week per person.

Ziff-Davis's circulation success also explodes the myth that electronic publishing will replace print publishing. Some magazine publishers are afraid that online versions of their titles will cannibalize their current business--or that the new media will kill print. But Ziff-Davis has matched the names of its online subscribers with its magazine subscribers and found that people who subscribe to both renew at significantly higher rates than normal.

Baird Davis, Senior Vice President of Circulation for Ziff-Da vis, said, "Nothing tests the quality of magazines like news stand sales--and our single-copy sales have increased more than 100 percent in the last five years.

The Rights Stuff II

International Business Machines now offers Cryptolopetm contain ers, secure packaging for digital information, which enable Internet users to buy and sell content securely over the Inter net.

This new technology is part of IBM's new infoMarket service (http://www.infomarket.ibm.com), which combines a search engine with content, secure container technology, and transaction and billing management, aimed at providing secure electronic com merce.

"The Internet is a natural conduit for the transmission of information, but publishers previously have been afraid to put their valuable content on the 'Net for fear that it may be tampered with or that they will not receive compensation for their works," said Jeff Crigler, vice president, IBM infoMarket. "The IBM infoMarket service provides the technology to address those needs."

Users of IBM infoMarket will be able to retrieve and down load Cryptolope containers from the infoMarket service Web site using an IBM infoMarket helper application, initially for Net scapetm 1.1 or greater, and Windowstm 3.1 or Windows 3.1.1. Win- dows 95, OS/2 and Mac/OS versions are planned.

A user can forward a Cryptolope container to others allowing content providers to take advantage of "superdistribution," a new business model that, if permitted by the publisher, allows the customer to send the Cryptolope to others who may be interested in its contents, thus facilitating the first phase of superdistr ibution. Publishers can now take advantage of the Internet as a valuable business medium by which to sell their information, over and over again.

To learn more about IBM's Internet activities, visit the IBM Internet home page at: http://www.internet.ibm.com or the IBM Corporation home page at http://www.ibm.com. Commission to Commit to Resale Rights Rates?

Reuters reports on a proposal by the European Commission that European Union (EU) artists or their heirs should receive a set percentage of the price when their works are resold by an agent or auction house.

The EU executive said a common system of "resale rights" was needed since some Union states -- Britain, Austria, Ireland, and the Netherlands -- did not guarantee artists any compensation and the others applied different rules.

The result, it said, was that British painter David Hockney would be paid if one of his paintings were sold in Paris, while the estate of French painter Henri Matisse would receive nothing for a painting sold in London.

The commission proposed legislation to ensure that artists -- ranging from photographers to engravers -- receive between 2 and 4 percent of the price of works that are resold for at least 1,000 European currency units ($1,250), or Ecus.

"This proposal will make a major contribution to promoting fine art within the European Union while removing existing distortions in the market place," Single Market Commissioner Mario Monti said in a statement.

The legislation has to be approved by EU ministers and the European Parliament before it can take effect.

Resale rights guarantee that artists or their heirs are compensated if the value of their work increases as their reputations grow. The system applies while a work is protected by copyright -- until 70 years after an artist's death in the EU.

The commission proposed a system under which artists would receive a percentage of the sale price minus tax, but the rate would fall as the price rises.

"The degressive rate would minimise the risk of large value sales being moved to non-EU countries such as Switzerland and the U.S. to avoid payment of the right," it said.

The rates would be set as follows: 4 percent for a price between 1,000 and 50,000 Ecus, 3 percent for a price between 50,000 and 250,000 Ecus, and 2 percent above 250,000 Ecus.

Citizens of non-EU countries should have the same benefits if EU artists received reciprocal protection in their countries, the commission proposed. (Reuters)

... and to Protections for Industrial Designs and Models?

The European Commission's single market commissioner is also proposing legislation to harmonize member states' legislation on the protection of industrial designs and models.

The proposal includes provisions on: the criteria designs must fulfill to qualify for protection (for example, they have to be new and have an individual character); the duration of protec tion (minimum five years, maximum 25 years); and the scope of protection (registration would confer the exclusive right to use the design and prevent third parties from using it). It would also: establish limits to the design right (e.g. it would not normally cover interconnections between components); establish rules on the nullity of the registration of a design; provide that specific legislation on the protection of designs would coexist with existing member state systems for protecting de signs, for example under copyright, trademark, or patent law.

The proposal for a Directive, first put forward in December 1993, would approximate national laws on the protection of designs. Equivalent provisions for protection of designs under Community law, whereby a design could qualify for protection throughout the EU with a single registration at a Community Design Office, would be established by a proposal for a regula tion also put forward in December 1993. The proposed regulation is likely to be revised in accordance with the amendment to the proposed directive once the directive has been adopted by the Council of Ministers.

These amendments are in accordance with the opinion of the European Parliament, notably concerning the protection of visible car spare parts. Under the modified proposal, these visible parts could be freely reproduced by independent part manufacturers on condition that they paid a "fair and reasonable" remuneration to the car manufacturer. Car spare parts which were not visible (e.g., oil filters, fan belts, other engine parts) would not qualify for design protection and so could be freely reproduced by independent part manufacturers as soon as a new car model reached the market.

"This amended proposal constitutes a sound basis for reach ing agreement on this important issue within the Council of Ministers while respecting the views of the European Parliament," commented Single Market Minister Mario Monti. "Ensuring a high level of protection for industrial property throughout the Single Market is essential to encouraging investment in the EU's manu facturing sector. This investment not only creates jobs but also maintains the Union's global competitiveness." (Reuters)

New Market News {names of companies to be in bold}

Mattel announced it has formed a multimedia company called Mattel Media Inc. that will release more than 15 children's consumer software titles and coin-operated products beginning the end of 1996. During the opening of the 1996 American Interna tional Toy Fair, Mattel said the new company has identified the largely untapped girls' software market as its primary focus as well as preschoolers ... DC Comics has formed a new Licensed Publishing Group, consolidating the functions of the Internation al Rights, Business Affairs and Licensed Publishing Editorial departments. In the works are approximately 60 titles for major houses such as Little Brown, Harper Collins, Western, Prima, Time Warner Audio Books, Good Times Interactive, in formats ranging from coloring books to coffee-table celebrations, with content form screensavers to cultural histories. In 1996, the group will expand to the World Wide Web, in addition to developing several CD-Roms ... Simon & Schuster, the world's largest computer book publisher, through its imprint QUE, and Lycos, Inc., a provider of Internet search and guide tools, have created Lycos Press, a three-year joint publishing effort to produce Internet-related titles based on the Lycos database and Web site content ...

© copyright 1995 - Graphic Artists Guild