On Tuesday we lost a true champion of intellectual property protection with the passing of Al Warren, chairman, editor and publisher of Warren Communications News. AW, as he was known, fought aggressively to protect the copyrights of his newsletters, which were vulnerable to piracy in the days before the Internet because they were so darned easy to photocopy. The recent Washington Post obit of AW discusses his focus on IP. I worked for AW on and off for almost a year -- you can read my tribute to him on the PFF blog -- and when you saw how much time and effort went into producing each newsletter, you can understand why AW wouldn't be happy when someone would blithely copy it.

I can remember once covering the board meeting of a prominent government-supported nonprofit -- believe me, you know it well -- and watching as the Warren newsletter Public Broadcasting Report was handed out to all the board members. But they were all photocopies. When I inquired about this, the press aide said, "Oh, it's a real pain. We only get the one copy, you know, so I have to make dozens of copies not just for board members but for all the staff. I have to walk them all over the building." Poor thing. It was a big building, several stories. She's getting blisters on her feet. But an entire office building is reading my reporting at the price of one copy. Of course, fair use advocates say once you "own" something, you can do what you like with it. They probably don't think much of the Warren business model of graduated payments per copy with the option of purchasing a site license (the FCC has one for the whole building). They don't view copyright as a bundle of rights, of which the owner can lease or sell or give away any combination of those rights. They like it black and white -- if I bought it, I can give it to 200 fellow employees at the cost of one newsletter.

AW's sons Dan and Paul have long track records enforcing Warren Communications News IP as well, and have taken that fight into cyberspace as most Warren copy is now delivered electronically. Many a Washington organization has been caught infringing by the Warrens over the years, including some you might think would be sympathetic to IP rights. Everyone focuses on music and to an extent movies, but any creative work is worth protecting, including journalism (of course, I have a bias there). AW, you've got a great view of infringers up there now, feel free to let your sons know when you see something amiss.

posted by Patrick Ross @ 11:54 AM | General

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