In my earlier post about the book Pink Ribbons Inc., I questioned why the copyright was held by the university that published it and not by the author, Samantha King.
King, an associate professor of physical and health education and women’s studies at Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada, confirmed in an e-mail that the book was originally written as her Ph.D. dissertation.
Before I received that e-mail, The Cheeky Librarian weighed in, and said she thought that giving up the copyright was standard practice with university presses. (King's book was published by the University of Minnesota.)
The Cheeky Librarian is a medical librarian with a university. She says, "I know that if I create something while working at the university, such as the video that we did in the library (it has been sent around the country, by the way, as well as on the Web--we are thrilled!), the university medical center holds the copyright. Maybe this author wrote her book as a work project? Maybe the author gave the copyright to the regents as a gesture? (Maybe they explain it in their foreword?) I know I have some university press books in this book-filled house, but can't lay my hands on any of them at the moment to see who holds copyright."
She then sent me a whole bunch of links to more info. on copyright, which I will put at the bottom of this post.
In her e-mail, King says, "University of Minnesota holds the copyright because (so far as I know) that's standard practice for academic books. I went with them because they promised to market it as a trade book so that it would reach a wider audience, and because I really liked the editor I was going to be working with."
I had also e-mailed the National Writers Union, a strong advocate for authors’ rights.
Here's the reply I received from Ken Wachsberger, 2nd vice president, external organizing, of NWU:
Jeanne, you're right that the intellectual property should belong to the author.
That certainly is the position of the National Writers Union. Unfortunately, many academics are so addicted to the "publish or perish" mentality that they throw away what is theirs without raising objections. In fact, many academics don't even realize they have a right to negotiate; they just sign the boilerplate contract that arrives in the mail.
In the National Writers Union, one of our missions, through our Grievance and Contract Division, is to educate not just academics but all writers, in all genres, about their rights as published authors and also work-for-hire writers (business, tech, and education authors, for instance, don't generally retain copyright but what they receive in compensation they deem worth the trade). We offer free contract advising as a member benefit and often give workshops on campuses. If you are interested in having a workshop come to your nearby campus, feel free to contact me and I will help you set one up; we usually do them in partnership with the campus teachers union.
I think I'll take Ken up on his offer and ask to have someone from NWU visit my writing class at the University of Washington Extension in the fall. Most of the adult students who take the class want to become freelance writers, and it is freelancers who have the least power when it comes to contracts and copyright.
As The Cheeky Librarian said, it is true that work you create as an employee generally belongs to your employer. This is true for written work and also for scientific discoveries of all kinds. The stories I wrote when I was employed by publications such as Newsweek are copyrighted by the publication, not by me.
When I wrote my column for MSN's Encarta channel, "Smart Parenting," I signed a work-for-hire agreement that gave the copyright to MSN. I wasn't happy about it, but I felt the pay and the exposure were worth it. However, I own stories I write as a freelancer, and this blog, as well.
Copyright on the Web is a real problem. Almost every week, I find that someone has violated my copyright by using something from my blog or my other published work without my permission.
Sometimes this is out of ignorance. A lot of people are writing and publishing on the Web who never went to journalism school or worked at a mainstream publication, so they don't know the rules.
But more often it is someone trying to fill up their Web site or blog with text that they have no right to use. When I find one of these, I send an e-mail asking them to take it down. That usually works, although I've found my writing on foreign-language sites coming out of China and other countries that did not respond to my requests to honor my copyright.
If You Want to Quote Me
Just for the record, if you want to refer to something I've written, the correct way to do it is to write a paragraph summarizing the content of the post and then link to it. You can also quote something I've written--again, about a paragraph or two is considered fair use, and then link to my original post.
I appreciate it when people send me an e-mail telling me that they are linking to my blog, but you don't have to do this. It shows up on my stats on Technorati anyway.
Another area of concern for me, now that I have photos on my blog, is people swiping my photos and using them without my permission. I've checked in with several people asking how to prevent this, and I'll write about that soon.
And Then There's Google
I've had a love-hate relationship with Google for years. (Love the search engine, hate how the company does business. Go to Running With Fear, a story I wrote for Seattle Weekly as a freelancer in 2003, and scroll to the bottom. You are looking for the subhead: SOAPBOX NO. 3: PRESSURE GOOGLE.)
From the NWU Web site:
Google and other giant software companies are trying to convince the public--and that includes students, professors, and librarians (our traditional allies)--that information on the Internet should be free and instantly accessible, and that copyright protection written into the U.S. Constitution is a hindrance to the free flow of information.
Argh.
Here's the link to the full article:
The Imperiled Future of Copyright
Want to Read More?
From The Cheeky Librarian:
Here is a 2003 article on FirstMonday on Copyright and Authors
One of my favorite blogs, BoingBoing, often has posts on
copyright and DRM.
Slashdot is another site that often discusses current and impending copyright law.
American Library Association keeps us up on copyright.
As does my Medical Library Association.
And great universities are starting their own copyright centers, just to help their academics and students keep track of the maze. See Stanford.
Intellectual property is a big deal, and needs to be paid attention to!
[Food Note: As I write this I am drinking a smoothie made with organic milk, real yoghurt, a banana, and strawberries harvested from my garden in June and frozen. Yum. Now that I'm off chemo I have an appetite again--How long has it been?--and I'm gaining weight, not a good thing, but I love getting really hungry.]
@ Jeanne Sather 2007.
