The Authors Guild
Encyclopedia
The Authors Guild is a not-for-profit American organization of and for authors. It has around eight thousand members, among them published authors, literary agents and attorneys (who mainly deal in book publishing). The current president (as of April 2010) is Scott Turow
and the current vice president is Judy Blume
. It provides members with free legal and business advice on book contracts, periodical and literary agency contracts, subsidiary licensing, royalty and copyright issues and other matters relevant to publishing. It has been involved in conflicts with Google and Amazon.
for writers of radio and stage drama and the Authors Guild for novelists, short story authors and nonfiction book/magazine authors including academics, biographers, historians and memoirists.
, Betty Miles and Daniel Hoffman, filed a class action
lawsuit against Google
for its Book Search project. According to the Authors Guild, Google was committing copyright infringement by scanning books that were still in copyright. (Google countered that their use was fair
according to US copyright law.)
On October 28, 2008 the Authors Guild, the Association of American Publishers, and Google announced that they had settled Authors Guild v. Google. Google agreed to a $125 million payout, $45 million of that to be paid to rightsholders whose books were scanned without permission. The Google Book Search Settlement Agreement
allows for legal protection for Google's scanning project, even though neither side changed its position about whether scanning books was fair use or copyright infringement. The Settlement also establishes a new regulatory organization, the Book Rights Registry
, which will be responsible for allocating fees from Google to rightsholders. The settlement is subject to approval by a federal court..
The Guild employs approximately fifteen full-time employees, collected US$1.6 million in 2006 & 2007, and paid expenses of $1.8 million and $1.5 million during those years while generating $30 million dollars in 2009 for the law firm representing the guild in the Google Books settlement, according to Paul Aiken, Executive Director of the Guild.
In 2009, direct and indirect revenue to the Guild should exceed US$50 million due to the Google settlement, with $34.5 million paid upfront as a "registry fee" to a separate, not-yet-established organization set up by the Guild. In September 2009, the US Department of Justice announced that it was pursuing an antitrust investigation into this settlement and on September 20 recommended to a New York court that they reject the Google book deal.
contracts. The standard industry contract allows for the reversion of rights. In other words, the specific rights granted to the publisher by the author under their contract (copyright itself remains the author's) revert from the publisher to the author if the book’s sales fall below a minimum level or when the book goes out of print. Simon & Schuster’s new clause stipulates that as long as the book is made available in electronic format, the rights remain with the publisher. This would effectively extend the publisher’s ownership for the entire length of the copyright, thereby preventing an author from seeking other avenues for their book. As Simon & Schuster is a major American publishing house with many imprints, the concern is that such a clause, left unchecked, would eventually become standard industry procedure.
On May 22, Simon & Schuster released a statement that the Authors Guild “perpetuated serious misinformation regarding Simon and Schuster, our author contracts and our commitment to making our authors' books available for sale.”
As a result, on May 30, the Guild launched a high profile campaign, Republish or Perish, which coincided with the 2007 BookExpo America
. The campaign involves ads placed in general interest magazines informing authors of this new clause, organizing symposia on the new contract terms, providing advice on how they can protect themselves.
On May 31, 2007, Simon & Schuster executives Jack Romanos, Carolyn Reidy, and Rick Richter apologized for “any early miscommunication” regarding reversion of rights and stated their interest as wanting “to keep books in print more effectively and to market frontlist and backlist titles more vibrantly. They further indicated their willingness to negotiate a “revenue-based threshold” to determine whether a book is in print.
Law. On 24 February 2009 Roy Blount Jr, as president of the guild, wrote an op-ed article for the New York Times, in which he wrote, "...the guild is being assailed. On the National Federation of the Blind
’s Web site, the guild is accused of arguing that it is illegal for blind people to use 'readers, either human or machine, to access books that are not available in alternative formats like Braille or audio.' ... The federation, though, points out that blind readers can’t independently use the Kindle 2’s visual, on-screen controls."
On February 27, 2009 Amazon announced that it would give publishers the right to limit text-to-speech on books, but hoped that most copyright holders would not take that path.
Scott Turow
Scott F. Turow is an American author and a practicing lawyer. Turow has written eight fiction and two nonfiction books, which have been translated into over 20 languages and have sold over 25 million copies...
and the current vice president is Judy Blume
Judy Blume
Judy Blume is an American author. She has written many novels for children and young adults which have exceeded sales of 80 million and been translated into 31 languages...
. It provides members with free legal and business advice on book contracts, periodical and literary agency contracts, subsidiary licensing, royalty and copyright issues and other matters relevant to publishing. It has been involved in conflicts with Google and Amazon.
History
The organization had its beginnings in 1912, when the Authors' League of America (ALA) was formed by some 350 book and magazine authors, as well as dramatists. In 1921, this group split into two branches: the Dramatists Guild of AmericaDramatists Guild of America
The Dramatists Guild of America is a professional organization for playwrights, composers, and lyricists working in the U.S. theatre market.Membership as an Associate Member is open to any person having written at least one stage play. Active Members are playwrights who have had at least one play...
for writers of radio and stage drama and the Authors Guild for novelists, short story authors and nonfiction book/magazine authors including academics, biographers, historians and memoirists.
Conflict with Google
On September 20, 2005, the Authors Guild, together with Herbert MitgangHerbert Mitgang
Herbert Mitgang is an author, editor, journalist, playwright, and producer of television news documentaries.- Work :During World War II Mitgang served as an army correspondent and became the managing editor of the...
, Betty Miles and Daniel Hoffman, filed a class action
Class action
In law, a class action, a class suit, or a representative action is a form of lawsuit in which a large group of people collectively bring a claim to court and/or in which a class of defendants is being sued...
lawsuit against Google
Google
Google Inc. is an American multinational public corporation invested in Internet search, cloud computing, and advertising technologies. Google hosts and develops a number of Internet-based services and products, and generates profit primarily from advertising through its AdWords program...
for its Book Search project. According to the Authors Guild, Google was committing copyright infringement by scanning books that were still in copyright. (Google countered that their use was fair
Fair use
Fair use is a limitation and exception to the exclusive right granted by copyright law to the author of a creative work. In United States copyright law, fair use is a doctrine that permits limited use of copyrighted material without acquiring permission from the rights holders...
according to US copyright law.)
On October 28, 2008 the Authors Guild, the Association of American Publishers, and Google announced that they had settled Authors Guild v. Google. Google agreed to a $125 million payout, $45 million of that to be paid to rightsholders whose books were scanned without permission. The Google Book Search Settlement Agreement
Google Book Search Settlement Agreement
The Google Book Search Settlement Agreement is an agreement between the Authors Guild, the Association of American Publishers and Google in settlement of Authors Guild et al. v. Google, a class action lawsuit alleging Copyright infringement. On October 28, 2008, Google announced an agreement to pay...
allows for legal protection for Google's scanning project, even though neither side changed its position about whether scanning books was fair use or copyright infringement. The Settlement also establishes a new regulatory organization, the Book Rights Registry
Book Rights Registry
The Book Rights Registry is an entity to be founded as part of a settlement of the lawsuit between the Authors Guild and Google over the Google Books scanning project. The Registry will be initially funded by $34.5 million from Google but it will be an independent, not-for-profit organization that...
, which will be responsible for allocating fees from Google to rightsholders. The settlement is subject to approval by a federal court..
The Guild employs approximately fifteen full-time employees, collected US$1.6 million in 2006 & 2007, and paid expenses of $1.8 million and $1.5 million during those years while generating $30 million dollars in 2009 for the law firm representing the guild in the Google Books settlement, according to Paul Aiken, Executive Director of the Guild.
In 2009, direct and indirect revenue to the Guild should exceed US$50 million due to the Google settlement, with $34.5 million paid upfront as a "registry fee" to a separate, not-yet-established organization set up by the Guild. In September 2009, the US Department of Justice announced that it was pursuing an antitrust investigation into this settlement and on September 20 recommended to a New York court that they reject the Google book deal.
Authors Guild vs Simon & Schuster
On May 17, 2007, Authors Guild Executive Director Paul Aiken released a statement warning members of a new clause in Simon & SchusterSimon & Schuster
Simon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. It is one of the four largest English-language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins...
contracts. The standard industry contract allows for the reversion of rights. In other words, the specific rights granted to the publisher by the author under their contract (copyright itself remains the author's) revert from the publisher to the author if the book’s sales fall below a minimum level or when the book goes out of print. Simon & Schuster’s new clause stipulates that as long as the book is made available in electronic format, the rights remain with the publisher. This would effectively extend the publisher’s ownership for the entire length of the copyright, thereby preventing an author from seeking other avenues for their book. As Simon & Schuster is a major American publishing house with many imprints, the concern is that such a clause, left unchecked, would eventually become standard industry procedure.
On May 22, Simon & Schuster released a statement that the Authors Guild “perpetuated serious misinformation regarding Simon and Schuster, our author contracts and our commitment to making our authors' books available for sale.”
As a result, on May 30, the Guild launched a high profile campaign, Republish or Perish, which coincided with the 2007 BookExpo America
BookExpo America
BookExpo America is the largest annual book trade fair in the United States. BEA is almost always held in a major city over four days in late May and/or early June...
. The campaign involves ads placed in general interest magazines informing authors of this new clause, organizing symposia on the new contract terms, providing advice on how they can protect themselves.
On May 31, 2007, Simon & Schuster executives Jack Romanos, Carolyn Reidy, and Rick Richter apologized for “any early miscommunication” regarding reversion of rights and stated their interest as wanting “to keep books in print more effectively and to market frontlist and backlist titles more vibrantly. They further indicated their willingness to negotiate a “revenue-based threshold” to determine whether a book is in print.
Amazon Kindle controversy
The Authors Guild have claimed that the text-to-speech facility of the Amazon Kindle 2 is a violation of American CopyrightCopyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
Law. On 24 February 2009 Roy Blount Jr, as president of the guild, wrote an op-ed article for the New York Times, in which he wrote, "...the guild is being assailed. On the National Federation of the Blind
National Federation of the Blind
The National Federation of the Blind is an organization of blind people in the United States. It is the oldest and largest organization led by blind people in the United States...
’s Web site, the guild is accused of arguing that it is illegal for blind people to use 'readers, either human or machine, to access books that are not available in alternative formats like Braille or audio.' ... The federation, though, points out that blind readers can’t independently use the Kindle 2’s visual, on-screen controls."
On February 27, 2009 Amazon announced that it would give publishers the right to limit text-to-speech on books, but hoped that most copyright holders would not take that path.