The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Monday to revisit a case it decided eight years ago in favor of freelance writers who said that newspapers and magazines had committed copyright infringement by making their contributions available on electronic databases.

In that 2001 decision, New York Times Company v. Tasini, the Supreme Court seemed to contemplate and even encourage a settlement of the case, saying that the parties “may enter into an agreement allowing continued electronic reproduction of the authors’ works.”

After the Tasini decision, many freelance works were removed from online databases. Most publishers these days require freelance writers to sign contracts granting both print and online rights.

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Source: NY Times

 

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