WITH THE UNION WINNING a major battle in the recent decision, the war is not yet over in preserving electronic rights for freelance writers. If we are to prevent publishers from doing an end run around the decision, we must continue to resist all rights contracts. To educate members and non-members about the importance of this issue, we have developed the following answers to some important questions.

Q. Does the decision compel publishers to pay freelance writers for electronic rights?
A. No. The decision states that these rights belong to the writer unless there is contract language that transfers these rights to the publisher. In other words, the publisher may still rob you with a fountain pen. If you sign what is known as the "all rights contract," then the decision will not put an extra dime in your pocket. As writers, we all need to collectively resist the all rights contract.

Q. What exactly is an "all rights contract."
A. The "all rights contract" is one that gives all rights to the publisher. In addition to hard copy print rights, the all rights contract gives the publisher the electronic rights to your work. These electronic rights are valuable, and they include things like: *rights to publish your work on the website of the publisher. *rights to publish your work on electronic databases of articles (like Lexis-Nexis). *rights to publish your work on other internet archives of articles on the web.

Q. What can I do to prevent them from taking these rights from me?
A. Instead of signing their all rights contract, you can ask them to use the NWU's "Standard Journalism Contract." If a copy is not enclosed with this information, members and non-members can download this contract from the NWU's website. Under our standard contract, you retain the electronic rights to your work. You can then negotiate and sell these rights to the publisher you are negotiating with or another publisher who will pay you for your work.

Q. What if they refuse to use the NWU contract?
A. Then use their contract, but insist on putting Section 3 from the standard journalism contract into the section where electronic rights are addressed. In the absence of any contract provision addressing electronic rights, you own the electronic rights after the article is published. However, your interests are better served by specifically inserting this language in your contract.

Q. What if the publisher wants to buy my electronic rights?
A. By all means sell them, but simply do not give them away for the pittance that the industry has grown accustomed to paying. Some publishers have been pirating these rights without the permission of writers. Other publishers have grown accustomed to demanding all rights contracts or paying very little for these rights. We need to educate the industry about the reality that these electronic rights are valuable commodities in the post-Tasini decision era of the information age.

Q. How valuable are these rights, and what should I tell them?
A. You can tell them that you are a member of the National Writers Union and the NWU has adopted a policy on electronic rights. When you start your negotiating process, you can tell them that the NWU recommends the following compensation for future use: * 100 percent of print fee per year for internet archives and websites. * 15 to 30 percent of the print fee per year for databases such as Lexis-Nexis.

Q. What should I ask for if the publication already used my work without permission?
A. The NWU has a policy for past infringement as well. We recommend that folks ask for payment equal to the original print fee for commercial database use and the same amount for web use. For example, if your original print fee was $500 and the publication put the piece on both the newspaper's website and Lexis-Nexis, you should receive $1,000 for past infringement. To simplify matters, we suggest that you ignore the length of time the article has been used electronically. To help folks collect money on past infringement, the NWU has prepared the "Model Demand Letter for copyright infringement."

Q. What do I tell the publisher who is reluctant to track electronic rights?
A. Tell the publisher that your union has established a collective licensing agency, the Publication Rights Clearinghouse (PRC), to simplify the payment of electronic rights. The PRC prepares a customized licensing agreement that fits the publishers needs. At regular intervals, the publisher can send the PRC one check. The PRC will then pay all writers who are under the PRC's licensing umbrella.

Q. What do I do if the publisher puts electronic rights language in my contract that I can't understand?
A. If you are a NWU member, you can have a contract advisor from the union review your contract and give you advice. The Chair of your local union can tell you who the contract advisors are in your local. If you have any doubts about who to go to for this important union benefit, call or e-mail the national at: E-Mail: nwu@nwu.org National Office East (N.Y.) (212) 254-0279 National Office West (Oakland) (510) 839-0110

Q. Will the industry go along with our policy on electronic rights?
A. We don't know yet, but we simply must fight for this. It is critical that we collectively push for this policy immediately and resist all rights contracts. The recent decision gives us some leverage and momentum to argue from a position of strength. The lawsuit victory affords us a window of opportunity to forcefully assert our rights and demands. If we do not take advantage of this opportunity now and play an instrumental role in shaping industry practice, we will be worse off in the years ahead. We simply cannot let publishers cut us off from this very important revenue stream in the information era.

Q. How else can we assert our rights and demands?
A. By building the union. We need to tell other writers about the lawsuit and what we can do to advance our collective interests. We need to convince other writers that there is strength in numbers, and we need them to join the union. We also need them to join the Publication Rights Clearinghouse. Together, we can negotiate from a position of strength. We need to use this lawsuit as an opportunity to grow our numbers. If we are to prevent the publishers from doing an end run around the lawsuit, then we simply must build a long and solid wall of writers who are willing and ready to hold the line. NO MORE ALL RIGHTS CONTRACTS!!!