In response to a petition by a coalition of writers’ organizations, the US Copyright Office today proposed to create a new category and procedure for “group registration” of copyright in multiple “short online literary works.” Co-signers of the petition for rulemaking which led to today’s action included: National Writers Union (NWU) American Society of Journalists […]
Copyright registration should be easier, less costly
In January 2017, the NWU and three other national organizations of writers petitioned the U.S. Copyright Office to establish “group registration” procedures that would allow a writer to register multiple stories, articles, blog posts, Web pages, or other short-form works with a single form and a single fee. Since then, our petition has been endorsed […]
An Open Letter to the New York Times
To the Editor: The Times seems to regard the removal of reporters’ bylines from your home page and mobile app (“Where Did the Bylines Go?“, August 22), as purely business decisions. But bylines aren’t just a good idea — they are required by international law. Article 6(bis) of the Berne Convention, ratified by the U.S. in 1988, recognizes […]
Book Division Report to the 2018 DA
Following are some highlights of actions taken by the NWU Book Division since the 2015 NWU Delegate Assembly. These include work on issues specific to writers of books, including to ebooks. These also include policy advocacy related to legislation, regulations, and litigation on copyright and other issues that affect writers of work in other formats as well as […]
Report to the NWU Delegate Assembly on International Activities, 2015-2018
The market for writing is global, as is the need for solidarity of working writers. Writers from around the world compete for jobs and freelance assignments with publishers around the world. We market and distribute our writing to, and earn revenues from, readers around the world, indirectly (through publishers and licensing agreements) and directly (as self-publishers, especially in […]
Writers Ask U.S. Copyright Office for Copyright Registration Reform
Washington, DC, May 8, 2018 — Representatives of the NWU, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA), and the Authors Guild (AG) converged on Washington this week to call on the US Copyright Office to create a “group registration” procedure by which a writer could […]
Application for ECL License in the UK withdrawn
The UK Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) has withdrawn its application to the UK Intellectual Property Office (IPO) for a license to operate an Extended Collective Licensing (ECL) scheme that would have included all written works by US writers. The NWU had opposed this application as likely to interfere with the revenues of US writers from […]
Checks Are in the Mail for May Day!
As of today, International Workers’ Day, checks for approximately $9.5 million are in the mail to almost 2,500 freelance writers whose works were copied and distributed in electronic form by publishers of print periodicals who had neither paid for nor acquired digital rights to these articles. These payments today of millions of dollars to thousands […]
NWU Opposes UK Scheme for “Extended Collective Licensing” for Digital Rights
Feb. 5, 2018 — This week the NWU responded to a public consultation by the U.K. Intellectual Property Office (IPO) — the British counterpart of the U.S. Copyright Office — to oppose an application by the U.K. Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) for authorization to operate an extended collective licensing (ECL) on behalf of all writers […]
French Law Favoring Publishers Repealed
The French government earlier this year repealed a terrible law giving the country’s publishers the “right” to issue or license new editions of “out of print” books and pocket the revenues. The law, which was overturned last June, allowed print publishers to profit from these newly issued digital editions, regardless of the availability of previous versions of […]
NWU is the sole provider of IFJ Press Passes to freelance journalists in the U.S.