End date 2001 | ||
Full case name The New York Times Company, Inc., et al., Petitioners
v.
Jonathan Tasini, et al. Citations 533 U.S. 483 (more)
121 S. Ct. 2381 Majority Ginsburg, joined by Rehnquist, O'Connor, Scalia, Kennedy, Souter, Thomas Dissent Stevens, joined by Breyer Ruling court Supreme Court of the United States Similar Eldred v Ashcroft, Feist Publications - Inc - v Ru, Sony Corp of America v Univers, MGM Studios - Inc v Gro, New York Times Co v United | ||
New York Times Co. v. Tasini, 533 U.S. 483 (2001), is a leading decision by the United States Supreme Court on the issue of copyright in the contents of a newspaper database. It held that The New York Times, in licensing back issues of the newspaper for inclusion in electronic databases such as LexisNexis, could not license the works of free-lance journalists contained in the newspapers.
The lawsuit brought by members of the UAW's National Writers Union against the New York Times Company, Newsday Inc., Time Inc., University Microfilms International, and LexisNexis. The freelance writers, including lead plaintiff Jonathan Tasini, charged copyright infringement due to the use and reuse in electronic media of articles initially licensed to be published in print form. In a 7-2 ruling delivered by Justice Ginsburg, the Court affirmed the copyright privileges of freelance writers whose works were originally published in periodicals and then provided by the publishers to electronic databases without explicit permission of, or compensation to, the writers. As a result of the decision, plaintiffs won a compensation pool of $18 million.
History
The case was initially heard in the district court of Judge Sonia Sotomayor, who held that the publishers were within their rights according to the Copyright Act of 1976. This decision was reversed on appeal, and the Supreme Court affirmed the appellate court's reversal.