High Court Takes Up Copyright Case
Publishing giants like Reed Elsevier, Dow Jones and the New York Times will face off against freelance authors Wednesday as the Supreme Court considers whether federal judges have the power to approve settlements in copyright fights, CongressDaily reports. The case stems from a New York court's approval of an $18 million settlement of a class-action brought by writers who argued their work was improperly reproduced for electronic distribution.
Absent from the bench will be Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who gave no reason for her recusal. As a district court judge in 1997, she heard a similar case brought by individual freelancers. Sotomayor sided with publishers, but the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the reversed her decision on the basis that the trial court lacked jurisdiction over claims relating to unregistered works. The Supreme Court upheld the appellate ruling, 7-2.
In the current case, a district court approved the settlement, but the 2nd Circuit, citing federal law limiting copyright lawsuits to those who have registered their works, ruled that the lower court had no jurisdiction and should not have approved the deal. Publishers want a reversal of the appellate court's ruling, and the American Intellectual Property Law Association filed a brief supporting the publishers. Read the full preview story here (subscription required) and look for more coverage in CongressDaily later in the day.
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