A publisher who acquires the right to publish a freelancer’s work in a newspaper, magazine or on a website may not reproduce the work in an electronic database unless the agreement signed by the author clearly grants permission. In deciding a 2001 case about this issue, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that including a freelancer’s work in electronic databases was not equivalent to including such a work in microfilm or microfiche copies of a newspaper or magazine.[18] In microfilm copies, the work remains in context on the page and as part of a collective work. In a text-only database, however, the freelancer’s work is removed from its context within a page layout and is no longer part of a larger collective work. The freelancer retains the copyright in this individual work divorced from its context, unless the freelancer’s contract with a publisher provides otherwise.
[18] Tasini v. New York Times Co., 533 U.S. 483, 121 S. Ct. 2381 (2001).
