With NWU President Larry Goldbetter moderating, the panel was

• Paul Aiken – Authors Guild
• James Grimmelmann – NY Law School
• Lyn Chu – Writers’ Reps LLC

with additional input from:

• Ed Hasbrouck – National Writers Union
• Sally Shannon – American Society of Journalists and Authors
• Michael Capobianco – Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America

Remember: January 28, 2010 is the last day to make a decision about opting in or out of the settlement.

With NWU President Larry Goldbetter moderating, the panel was

with additional input from:

• Ed Hasbrouck – National Writers Union
• Sally Shannon – President, American Society of Journalists and Authors
• Michael Capobianco – Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America

Special thanks to NWU for hosting, ASJA for handling registration, and Joly MacFie of ISOC-NY for recording the event.

[Audio clip: view full post to listen]

The Google Settlement — What it means for writers

A FREE workshop will be held for writers in mid-town New York, Wednesday, Jan. 20 from 2-4:40 p.m.

Are you out or in? Come get your questions answered.

Hear the best-informed, best-known authorities on what the second version of the Google Book Search Settlement would mean for writers if it is approved by the court.  The second opt-out deadline is coming up a week after this seminar, so there is still time to figure out what’s best for you, personally, and then to act. This workshop will focus on the settlement and writers — just writers.

Much of the public debate has settled on other aspects, like orphan books, yet we writers are still confused about what the proposed, new Book Rights Registry would mean for us.

Sponsored jointly by the American Society of Journalists and Authors, ASJA, the National Writers Union, NWU, and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, SFWA.

FREE but please tell us if you’re coming, either by calling 212-997-0947 or a quick e-mail to asjaoffice AT asja.org. (Put “Google settlement” in the subject line.)

Speakers: Professor James Grimmelmann, who together with a group of his law students has been commenting line-by-line on the legal ramifications of the settlement for many months. The project is called the Public-Interest Book Search Initiative, sponsored by the Institute for Information Law and Policy at New York Law School See it at The Public Index The site has remained steadfastly non-partisan.

Poet, attorney and principal at Writers’ Representatives, LLC: Lynn Chu, who has written about the settlement in the Wall Street Journal and elsewhere. Chu, a literary agent of many years standing, organized a group of writers who object to the settlement. She currently is at work on a law review article on its ramifications.

Other speakers: to be announced.

Considerable time will be reserved for your questions

LOCATION: The workshop will be held Wednesday, Jan. 20 from 2 – 4:30 p.m. in the conference room of the New York NWU office, 256 w. 38th St., 12th floor.  That’s between 7th and 8th.

WEBCAST, PODCAST: We hope to webcast the program and also to make podcasts available, free. Watch the ASJA, NWU and SFWA sites for information!

“The proposed settlement is grossly unfair to writers,” said Larry Goldbetter, president of the National Writers Union, Local 1981 of the United Auto Workers. “It gives Google monopolistic control over access to many previously published copyrighted books and materials, and allows Google to collect and sell information about the reading habits of individuals.”

The NWU’s decision to oppose the settlement was approved by the union’s Delegates Assembly following three days of discussion last weekend in Chicago.

Though the NWU is not a party to the lawsuit, many of its 1,500 members – book authors, journalists, technical, academic and educational writers – will be directly affected by the settlement.

“More importantly, the economic well-being of all writers will be greatly impacted by precedents set by any court-approved agreement,” Goldbetter said.

“By scanning and digitally reproducing millions of copyrighted books and articles without permission by the writers, Google violated authors’ constitutionally protected rights,” Goldbetter said. “According to our understanding of the proposed settlement, writers whose copyrights were violated might receive a check for between $60 and $300 for each book and $15 per article,” he added. “Compared to the number and seriousness of the violations, the amount being offered by Google to each writer is ridiculously low. Also, of the $125 million offered by Google, only $45 million is for writers. This seems way short of the amount needed to compensate authors of millions of books,” he said.

The NWU also opposes the proposed settlement because it would give Google a license to reproduce a writer’s copyrighted work unless the writer specifically tells Google to remove his or her work from the program. This would apply to U.S.-based and foreign writers who might not be aware of the settlement and to those who presume – with good reason because it’s the law
– that their copyright protects them without the need to take further action.
“Putting the onus on writers to contact Google is also grossly unfair,” Goldbetter said, “Google is essentially saying ‘we are going to steal your work and sell it under terms we dictate unless you tell us not to.’ A corporation, no matter how powerful, shouldn’t be able to profit from your work without first contacting you and obtaining your permission in writing.”
Finally, “the NWU opposes the settlement because it interferes or might interfere with the relationship writers have with their publishers,” Goldbetter said. “The settlement makes assumptions about electronic rights that writers may or may not have assigned to publishers and it sets up an unfair binding arbitration process to resolve disputes between writers and publishers. These disputes must be arbitrated on a case-by-case basis. The settlement does not allow for writers, who were collectively targeted, to collectively negotiate to settle these disputes.”
The NWU’s decision to oppose the settlement is especially timely. Individual writers, publishers, organizations or anyone else who wants to opt out of the settlement, object to the settlement, intervene in the case, or file a “friend of the court” brief, must file his or her objections, notices or legal briefs with the Federal District Court in New York City by the close of business on Friday, Sept. 4, 2009. A hearing on the matter is set for Oct. 7, 2009.

The National Writers Union is the nation’s only labor union and advocacy organization for freelance writers in all genres, media, and formats. In addition to print media writers, NWU represents electronic writers and editors of blogs, e-newsletters and web sites. NWU is affiliated with the United Auto Workers (UAW) and the AFL-CIO. NWU’s headquarters are at 113 University Place, 6th floor, New York, NY 10003.