The work-for-hire contract is most predominant in the publishing industry. Characteristically this industry pays considerably less for artwork than advertising with it's higher money return. What isn't understandable is the demands, without negociation, insisted upon by many of the major publishers. For many illustrators, signing a work-forhire contraxt is mandatory to receive work from a publisher. In doing so the publisher receives the whole package of rights and control for an already low price. Illustrators have long enjoyed the less restrictive expression that publishing assignmentsoffer, but more and more artists are being forced to seek work elsewhere because of the work-forhire demands. What the artists are asking for is the right to negotiate; to be paid in accordance with the use of the art. A workfor-hire contract is completly one-sided, needlessly instituted by an increasing number of art buyers. Most often the artists working under such a clause are doing so for survival in an already depressed economy. We are asking for a closer look at the work-for-hire clause, and a clear, fair definition of it's application. Sincerely, ARA. Lytle John A Lytle President, S.F.Society of Illustrators COMPLETED 16 SEPT. 1982 VOL I. 6 ILLUSTRATIONS FOR HARCOURT BRACE (SF) IN JULY 1981. IN DEC '81 SOC. OF ILLUS. ONE OF THE 6 WAS SELECTED FOR IN MAY THE CREATIVE DIRECTOR SUSAN COULTON HOUGHTON IN APRIL '82 I COMPLETED A J08 FOR MIFFLIN (BOSTON). GOT JOB THROUGH MY REP IN N.Y. FINISHED BUT DIDN'T SIGN & RETORN THEIR SEPARATE FROM P.O. WAH FORMS. I GOT PAID ANYWAY. THEY SENT ANOTHER JOB IN EARLY SEPT. AND THIS TIME I CALLED AND SAID I WOULDN'T SIGN WAH, BUT THIS WAS A SYMBOLIC I OBJECTED TO THEIR ARROGANCE BUT REALIZED I HAD NO RECOURSE. PROTEST THE ART DIRECTOR ARCHLY INFORMEO I HAVE NOT ACTED AS YET ON THIS. SEND THE JOB BACK UN COMPLETED OR SEND IT BACK WITH THE WTH UNSIGNED, DELETED, OR SUBSTITUTED WITH MY OWN CONTRACT. WORK IS THROUGH MY N.Y. REP. MOST OF THEIR CUENTS ASK WORK FOR HIRE AND ALL THEY BUT REALRE I HAVE TO BITE THE BOLLET TILL I CREAK WITH THEY KNOW OF CASE I ABOVE AND APPROVE OF MY VERBAL OBJECTIONS HOPING THEREBY of To Put PRESSURE ON THEIR CLIENTS. фот Artists in Print Fort Mason Center San Francisco, CA 94123 (415) 673 6941 September 23, 1982 Attn: Marty Kobren Criminal Law Sub-Committee Room 162 Russell Office Building Washington, DC 20510 RE: WORK FOR HIRE SENATE BILL Artists in Print is a non-profit membership organization for graphic artists. We are strongly opposed to the work for hire laws currently in practice. Our organization, based in the Bay Area, serves over 1200 graphic artists throughout Northern California. A majority of our members are free lance artists, directly affected by the work for hire laws. These unfair laws put middle income artists in a financial and ethical bind. It is often hard, in such a competitive field, for the artist to turn down a paying job. However, accepting work for hire they are continually abused. For example: 1) Artists working usually on a low hourly rate have no control over publication of their work. 2) Publishers may reproduce the work without giving recognition to the artist. 3) Publishers may develop a large market profit that the artist does not share in. 4) There are no employee benefits available to the artist. With these conditions in practice, artists can enormously benefit their employers without recognition and only menial financial benefits. In conjunction with the Graphic Artists Guild of New York and our own membership, we urge you to put a stop to these practices. We ask you to give the individual artists their rightful professional dignity and basic contractual control of their own work. OFFICERS George P. Lutjen James J. Marshall Glen K. Parker David Swit Stanley I. Hartman DIRECTORS William Haight Ken Kovaly Technical Insights Government Information Services, Inc. Glen K. Parker Institute for Econometric Research Stephen D. Pepper Lawrence Ragan Communications Tod Sedgwick Pasha Publications David Swit Washington Business Information, Inc. John D. Wills Capitol Publications, Inc. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Frederick D. Goss S. 2044 October 12, 1982 The Newsletter Association of America (NAA) is an international non-profit trade association devoted to the interests of publishers of newsletters and specialized information services. NAA membership currently includes over 700 publishers who produce, collectively, nearly 2000 newsletters in the U.S., Canada and 15 additional countries. NAA would like to take this opportunity to express our opposition to S. 2044. We believe the apparent intent of this legislation, to provide a "balancing" of interest of authors and publishers with regard to copyright ownership, has been satisfactory taken care of by the 1976 Copyright Act |