Publications
FAIR USE AND ONLINE PUBLISHING
Legal And Practical Guidance For Publishers
This Article first discusses broad copyright and fair use concepts. Next, we discuss specific fair use problem areas, involving “coverage of coverage” reporting and uses of headlines, stories and other publisher content by Google and other web portals. Then, we discuss how much use is fair use, and practical guidelines for use. We conclude by briefly considering the practical implications for fair use of technological developments in online publishing. This article was published in the Pennsylvania Bar Association Quarterly in October 2007.
(read the complete brief in PDF)
NEW MEDIA BUSINESS MATTERS
Fair Use, Licensing and Doing Business with Google
Time was, at the turn of the new century, leaders in the print magazine industry worried that the Internet would eliminate the demand for printed products and reduce ad revenue. Smart print publications adapted by securing domain names and designing websites that allowed them to reach their target audiences wherever they could be found. Today, this integrated electronic and print publishing distribution model does not have the luxury of standing still. Publishers struggle to safeguard valuable content that can be copied electronically at the rate of replicating DNA, while jockeying for a top position in the coveted Google search. Meanwhile, Google pushes the edges of copyright law and fair use while making search engine optimization an elusive science. This complicated dance creates opportunity for traditional and new media publishers to adopt a nuanced philosophy about dealing with Google and its ilk. We hope the following summary of recent legal wrangling and negotiations involving Google and various publishers will assist publishers in thinking about their distribution models, co-branding relationships and licensing strategies. This article was published in Folio in August 2007.
(read the complete brief in PDF)
NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS
State and Federal Governance Issues, 5 Topics
This article discusses 5 topics in nonprofit governance:
Audit and Compensation Committees; Auditors and Non-Audit Services
- Audit and Compensation Committees; Auditors and Non-Audit Services
- Annual Review Process for Board
- Compensation Issues Generally
- Conflicts and Interested Transactions, Staff Codes of Conduct
- Disclosure Requirements
The article surveys how developments in these areas are affecting—and will affect—nonprofit organizations, and what organizations are doing responsively and proactively. A separate section surveys state laws, and how ideas on federal preemption through contemplated action in Congress are impacting corporate governance for nonprofits. This article was published on June 15, 2005.
(read the complete brief in PDF)
COPYRIGHT AND FREELANCERS
Impact of National Geographic Decision Post-Tasini
Relevance to Publishers of Grokster Peer-to-Peer File-Sharing Case
Before this spring’s Supreme Court ruling in the Grokster peer-to-peer file-sharing case, two federal appeals courts ruled on separate cases involving National Geographic photographers and republication of freelancer photographs in National Geographic archive compilations. The more recent of the two decisions found in favor of publishers reproducing freelancer articles as part of an electronic archive, if published as part of the full republishing of the magazine issue as originally published. This article discusses the possible impact—and limited application—of this ruling in light of both the Tasini progeny and the Grokster case. The problem for publishers that may have been inadvertently highlighted in Grokster, is that technology already easily permits parsing of full databases by the most minute search terms and categories. In reality, regardless of a publisher’s intent to recreate the whole issue and play by any perceived legal rules, users may inevitably have the very capability that the Supreme Court found unacceptable in Tasini four years ago. What results, as the New York Times put it this week in the context of the Grokster file-sharing case, is a “permanent war” of technology versus publishers, where “the court can do little to alter the spread of technology or the interests of copyright owners to protect their material.” This article was published on March 29, 2005.
(read the complete brief in PDF)
MARKETING/PRIVACY
California’s “Information Sharing Disclosure” Law
A new California law, effective January 1st, requires businesses to disclose whether they sell personal information of California residents for direct marketing purposes. The law may affect your business despite your location outside of California or lack of significant business activity in California. This article was published on January 2, 2005.
(read the complete brief in PDF)
LABOR AND HUMAN RESOURCES/PUBLISHING
Labor Department Revised Overtime Rules, Particular Impact On Publishers
New U.S. Department of Labor overtime rules impact editorial and other publishing companies under the Department’s “Creative Professionals” exemption category. The Department’s revised rules still generally classify employees in terms of salary levels. However, the impact of the revised rules is most noticeable in terms of job duties. Prior rule distinctions of job categories by title or administrative group are today nearly irrelevant. This article was published on November 30, 2004.
(read the complete brief in PDF)