FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 25, 2001

For further information:
Miriam Nisbet, ALA
202-628-8410
Prudence Adler, ARL
202-296-2296
prue@arl.org

ARL and ALA Commend the Supreme Court's Decision in The New York Times v. Tasini

Washington, DC - The American Library Association (ALA) and the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) commend the Supreme Court's decision today in the case of The New York Times v. Tasini. In a decisive 7-2 ruling, the Justices affirmed the copyright privileges of freelance writers whose works were originally published in newspapers and periodicals and then licensed by the publishers to commercial electronic databases. Today's decision represents a major pronouncement on issues of copyright law in the digital age.

The Court rejected the publishers' argument that a ruling for the authors would have "devastating" consequences. In arguing the case, the publishers had raised a number of serious concerns. Yet, the Court explicitly noted that it was not necessary to delete freelance writers' articles; publishers could explore other alternatives. The Justices noted that there are "numerous models for distributing copyrighted works and remunerating authors for their distribution."

The ALA and ARL had filed an amici curiae brief with the Court in February 2001 suggesting there were options for addressing the concerns of the case. "We felt strongly that there were constructive ways to address the remedial phase of this case which would be fair to the freelance authors, commercial electronic database publishers, and the public--and the Supreme Court in its decision today recognized that there are such options. The lower court has a wide range of discretion to structure a remedy in this matter that will protect the rights of all involved," explained Miriam Nisbet, Legislative Counsel for the ALA.

Implicit in the Court's decision, noted Prudence Adler, Associate Executive Director of ARL, is the recognition that the nation's libraries and archives continue to provide access to the historical record of periodicals and newspapers. "In addition, the Court's ruling recognizes that certain archival media, such as microfilm and microfiche, do not infringe freelance authors' copyrights. Thus the historical record will continue to be available to researchers and the public--a matter of utmost importance to librarians."

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ARL is an Association of 123 research libraries in North America. ARL programs and services promote equitable access to and effective use of recorded knowledge in support of teaching, research, scholarship, and community service.

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