The NWU and allied organizations representing people who earn our living as creators of copyrighted works will take part in a free, online conference on Wednesday, May 11, 2022, “Creators and Their Advocates on How Writers, Photographers, Illustrators, Designers, Dramatists, Songwriters, and Composers Are Being Taken Advantage of — and What We Can Do About It.
All three sessions of the creators conference are free and open to NWU members and the public. Archived video of each session (see links below) will be available until August 31, 2022.
Links to additonal resources from the nWU and allied organizations are on the conference website.
PANEL 1
11 am – 12:30 pm ET
(10 am CT, 9 am MT, 8 am PT)
(10 am CT, 9 am MT, 8 am PT)
Working for free/paying to work:
Contests, crowdsourcing, and publishing platforms
The ways in which creators are asked to work for free abound, from contests to hiring homework to publishing and crowdsourcing platforms. What do we need to look out for, and how can we push back against these practices?
PANEL 2
1:30 – 3 pm ET
(12:30 pm CT, 11:30 am MT, 10:30 am PT)
(12:30 pm CT, 11:30 am MT, 10:30 am PT)
Contracts and terms:
The unethical, the unenforceable, and the unavoidable
Creative professionals are often bound by client-supplied contracts, and publishing platforms require standardized contracts. Be aware of terms such as work-made-for-hire language, wage skimming, and non-compete clauses.
PANEL 3 (including Edward Hasbrouck from the NWU)
4 – 5:30 pm ET
(3 pm CT, 2 pm MT, 1 pm PT)
(3 pm CT, 2 pm MT, 1 pm PT)
Copyrights and Rights Grabs:
How your work is taken, and how you can protect your rights
Infringers utilize ingenious ways to steal our work, while companies openly engage in rights grabs. What can we do individually, and what can we do collectively to advocate for policy changes, to protect ourselves against rights grabs?
