On Jan 20, the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA) , the National Writers Union (NWU), and the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) and the Internet Society’s New York Chapter (ISOC-NY) jointly sponsored a workshop to discuss the implications for writers of the proposed Google Books Settlement (GBS), which is the result of a class action brought by the Authors Guild. There is some urgency, as writers only have until Jan 28 2010 to opt out or object. The three sponsoring writers organizations above all oppose the settlement. A fairness hearing has been set for 18 February.
With NWU President Larry Goldbetter moderating, the panel was
- Paul Aiken – Authors Guild
- James Grimmelmann – NY Law School
- Lyn Chu – Writers’ Reps LLC
with additional input from:
- Ed Hasbrouck – National Writers Union
- Sally Shannon – American Society of Journalists and Authors
- Michael Capobianco – Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America
Audio is here. Video is below.
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ISOC-NY is a co-sponsor of Evan Korth’s Computers & Society speaker series at NYU this fall. The next talk is this Sunday. It will feature Professor Lawrence Lessig of Stanford University. His topic is “Remix: Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy.â€
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