Copyright Act of 1976 - Copyright Infringement - Supreme Court Holds That the Selling of Freelance Authors' Articles by Print Publishers to Electronic Publishers Constitutes Copyright Infringement. New York Times Co. v. Tasini, 533 U.S. 483 (2001)

Authors

• S. Brock Benson, Southern Methodist University, Dedman School of Law

Abstract

In New York Times Co. v. Tasini, the Supreme Court decided the issue of whether the selling to electronic publishers of articles in collective works without permission from the freelance authors was permissible under § 201 (c) of the Copyright Act. In earlier proceedings, the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York granted summary judgment for the publishers, holding that the publishers were entitled to place contents of their periodicals into electronic databases without the permission of the authors whose works appeared in the periodicals. The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, however, reversed the decision. In affirming the decision of the Second Circuit, the Supreme Court held that an owner of a copyright for a collective work, absent express transfer of the author's copyright, may not freely reproduce or distribute a single contribution of the collective work. The Court found that the electronic databases presented the articles out of the context of the original publications and did not constitute a revision of the collective works under § 201(c) of the Copyright Act. Accordingly, the publishers' construction of the privileges afforded by § 201(c) diminished the authors' exclusive rights under § 106. The Court, however, failed to take into consideration the technological advances that have taken place since the Copyright Act was amended in 1976, which have forever altered the dissemination of information to the public. Furthermore, the Court did not recognize the delicate balance between the rights of authors to be compensated for their works and the rights of the public to have access to new information and ideas, and thus erred in its ruling.

Recommended Citation

S. Brock Benson, Copyright Act of 1976 - Copyright Infringement - Supreme Court Holds That the Selling of Freelance Authors' Articles by Print Publishers to Electronic Publishers Constitutes Copyright Infringement. New York Times Co. v. Tasini, 533 U.S. 483 (2001), 7 Computer L. Rev. & Tech. J. 81 (2002)