TASINI DECISION EXPECTED IN JUNE

            As you undoubtedly know, freelance writers in the Tasini case won an important victory in the United States Court of Appeals, which held that the sale of written articles to electronic databases and CD-Rom companies without
the permission of the writers, constitutes copyright infringement.

            This case, first commenced in 1993, is now reaching its climax with oral arguments having been heard before the Supreme Court of the United States on March 28, 2001. A decision is expected by June.

            Also in late March, another United States Circuit Appeals Court held in favor of a photographer in a case with similar issues. That case, against the National Geographic Society, concerned re-use of photos on a CD-Rom without the consent of the photographer. An appeal is probably pending, but that will undoubtedly be influenced by the Tasini outcome, as will other pending cases.

            The legal issue deals with whether a database, such as these, is a revision of the original publication, or a new use or product. If it is the latter, as the Circuit Court found, then it constitutes copyright infringement.

            This is yet another in a series of cases involving intellectual property rights in the Internet age, and the outcome should shed some light on the direction the Courts will likely be heading in the coming years on these issues of great importance to all creative Talent.

Correction: In our March 2001 column we referred to the plaintiff as Bob McNeely. However, Mr. McNeely, the White House photographer, was the subject in the photograph. The photographer was Joel Marvullo, who is the plaintiff.