Stardate 20010723.2213 (On Screen): Somehow I missed this when it came out two weeks ago. A critical decision about professional use of the web got made in New York. A publication which has contracted with a writer for paper-publishing rights to a book does not automatically have electronic-publishing rights to that same book. By implication this also applies to articles, one would expect. The authors can separately sell the electronic publishing rights, but more to the point the paper-publisher can't electronically publish without separate negotiations.
What does this do for all the paper-publishing companies like the LA Times and the Washington Post and Newsweek who have been taking material from their print publications and putting them online? Unless they had the foresight to include electronic publishing in their contracts, a lot of online archives will be going dark. While I'm in sympathy with the writers, it still changes the landscape quite a lot. (discuss)
