A month ago, a consortium of electronics manufacturers have announced a new Digital Transmission Content Protection specification that lets devices enforce copying restrictions. The sea change in consumers' rights that are implied by the Copyright Act cannot be fully comprehended without considering proposed changes to the Uniform Commercial Code . Other laws bolstering copyright include this past year's Copyright Term Extension Act , which added another 20 years to the length of copyright, and a proposed Collections of Information Antipiracy Act . But it is not my intent in this article to concentrate on new copyright laws. My question is why the proceeds of the information age do not accrue to some of those most responsible for actually creating that information.
Photographers have similar worries to face in the digital economy.
Several photographers sued National Geographic in December 1997 because it reprinted their work in CD-ROMs without permission, and offered low payments to some while claiming that its contracts permit reproduction without payment to others. Publishers are risk-takers, so they certainly need compensation. But it is not the publisher who actually brings home the goods. It is the journalist in the field who courageously seeks out the dirt in our communities' politics, and the hazardous chemicals in our communities' dirt. We depend on our journalists to do the tough work, whether it involves the danger of visiting a war zone or just the boredom of listening for 12 hours straight while two political parties use the floor of Congress to accuse each other subverting the organs of government.