GETTING PAID WHEN WORK IS PHOTOCOPIED

by Janice Hopkins Tanne

Whether you’re a full-time or part-time freelance writer, it’s vital to retain the rights to your work.

One of these rights, so-called “reprographic rights,” pertains to the photocopying of articles, book chapters, photos, artwork, and the like.

In Paul Raeburn’s president’s letter (summer issue of SW), members learned that NASW is taking steps to join the Authors Coalition of America (http://www.authorscoalition.org). By doing so, NASW can share, along with other writers’ groups, in a portion of the fees collected by the coalition, under the copyright laws of some foreign countries, when the work of U.S. writers is photocopied.

The coalition distributes the “non-title-specific” fee they collect to organizations, not individuals, because there's no way of knowing which writer’s works were photocopied. The organizations (such as NASW) then use these funds to benefit their entire membership through workshops, seminars, and educational and professional programs.

In addition, NASW members should also know about, and take advantage of, the services offered by three other organizations that collect and distribute money, generated under the umbrella of reprographic rights, directly to the writers whose work is photocopied.

The Authors Registry

The Authors Registry, set up in 1995 by the Authors Guild and other organizations, receives “title-specific” money (mostly from abroad). The registry finds the authors and sends them a check, after taking a very modest fee. And you don’t have to be a member of the Authors Guild to benefit from this service. Register directly with the Authors Registry or check to see if you’re already registered through your agent or another writers’ organization. For more information, visit http://www.authorsregistry.org.

The Publication Rights Clearinghouse

This organization was set up several years ago by the National Writers Union and the Copyright Clearance Center. Authors sign up with the clearinghouse, register articles or other works to which they own rights, and receive fees for the re-use of their work. The Web site is http://www.nwu.org/prchome.htm.

Copyright Clearance Center

The Copyright Clearance Center in Danvers, Mass. was set up about 30 years ago at the suggestion of Congress to collect fees for photocopying and distribute the money to publishers and the others who own the rights to articles, books, newsletters, etc. Along with monies collected for reprographic rights, the center now pursues electronic re-use fees. The center represents three groups: publishers, users of copyrighted material (such as law firms, pharmaceutical companies, libraries, and universities), and creators such as authors and photographers. For more information, visit http://www.copyright.com.

Other useful information about rights and contracts can be found on the Web site of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (http://www.asja.org; click on “Position Papers” and “Contracts Watch”).

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Janice Hopkins Tanne is a New York-based freelance writer. She is a past president of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, currently a board member of the Copyright Clearance Center, and helped establish the Authors Coalition of America.

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