In a 2-1 decision, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Manhattan overturned a contentious agreement between publishers and freelance writers which allows freelancers to be paid for electronic rights in their work. The basis for the ruling, according to Richard Perez-Pena’s account in the New York Times, is specious: two of the judges held that courts have no jurisdiction over the copyright dispute because most of freelance writers’ works were not registered with the US Copyright Office.
US copyright law requires registration for damages to be awarded in infringement cases, but specifically allows legal action against alleged infringement of unregistered works.
In a 2001 decision, the US Supreme Court held that digital reproduction of a freelance author’s work without permission copyright infringement. Publishers began demanding that freelance authors grant digital rights with no additional compensation, and the authors resisted. A settlement was reached in March 2005 which granted minimal payments to the freelancers (the publishers’ exposure was capped at US$18 million).
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