Copyright Committee changeover
The following statements were posted on sff.net last night. Some of what's in them is directed specifically to SFWA members, but I thought they should also be posted here.

There have been rumors that a possible candidate to chair the Copyright Committee has revealed himself. I'm pleased to say that those rumors are true. Russell Davis, the previous chair of the ePiracy Committee, has stepped forward and volunteered to chair the Copyright Committee. I can't think of anyone better qualified to take over the chairmanship of this extremely controversial committee, and I've determined that he is committed to both protecting the rights of our members, and following the recommendations of the Exploratory Committee.

I want to thank Russell for volunteering at this particularly sensitive juncture. It won't be an easy job, by any means, and there's no clear path that will satisfy everyone. It's an undertaking that I
wouldn't wish on anyone, but I'm glad someone has wished it on themselves.

I also want to thank Andrew for stepping down to allow this to happen.
He has worked tirelessly for SFWA over the last five years, and has
accomplished much for the organization. The Orphan Works White Paper,
for example, was almost entirely his work, and it was based on a
consensus developed through a committee that he oversaw. This white
paper is, in my opinion, a high point in SFWA's ongoing attempts to
engage with the forces, both legal and commercial, that will determine
the future of copyright. He has undertaken many programming tasks over
the years that have made our website more accessible, flexible, and
useful. He has shepherded the ePiracy Committee through a number of
very difficult years. No one who volunteers for SFWA should have to go
through what Andrew has since the scribd incident; many of the
criticisms, especially from non-members, have lost any kind of
perspective. I hope in the future we can remember that SFWAns are all,
fundamentally, on the same side, and there are no enemies among us.

It's true that Russell also currently serves on SFWA's Board of
Directors, and concerns about conflict of interest have been raised
when officers also serve as committee chairs. While I am concerned
that this has the potential to create problems, I think that, under
these circumstances, this is a very good resolution to the situation
and will allow us to move forward in a more unified fashion. 





Greetings All,

Please excuse what is bound to be a fairly lengthy post. I'll ask for your forbearance,
because I believe that what I have to say is somewhat important and may, I hope,
create an atmosphere in which we can tackle the challenges of protecting SFWA
members' right to control their work in the digital age.

A couple of days ago, I contacted President Michael Capobianco and suggested
that we needed to find a chair for the Copyright Committee who would be generally
acceptable to the members of our organization. As someone who had chaired the
prior incarnation of this committee, I volunteered to step forward and take
on the role of chair again. When presented with a viable option to move in this
new direction, President Capobianco asked Andrew Burt if he would step down
as chair, and Andrew agreed.

To continue down the path we were on seemed like an invitation to disaster and
a guarantee of a continued battle within our organization. As the previous chair,
I have the experience and knowledge to run the committee; no training period
will be necessary. I've already developed a working relationship with Andrew
and several other of the committee members, and I believe we can build on that
relationship and have continuity, while at the same time ensuring that the recommendations
of the Exploratory Committee are reviewed and followed to the best of our ability.
My primary goal will be to act in defense of our members' rights, while simultaneously
making certain that we do not take actions which are indefensible in the either
the public or blogosphere or represent a significant potential for
legal liability for SFWA.

Some of you know me, some don't, but I think it's wise if I detail some of my
thoughts about electronic infringement, copyright, and what my role will be.

First and foremost, let me say that I would call myself a copyright moderate.
All we know for sure of the future of electronic publishing is... that we don't
know much yet. I believe that every author has the right to decide for him/her
self how their work should be published, including electronic and print editions.
I believe in the protections afforded authors under the law to protect that
right, and that authors have the right to pursue websites or individuals who
are infringing their copyrights. And I most firmly believe that SFWA should
provide assistance in this kind of endeavor, when requested, and that we should
always stand on the side of the author wanting to control their copyrights.
I have been clear about this online, but I'll state it again, for the record:
electronic infringement is theft.

A lot has changed in the time since I served as chair of this committee, but
much remains the same. For SFWA to have an effective anti-infringement strategy,
we have to accomplish more than sending out
DMCA notices for individual works. Once an electronic edition of a given work
exists, the proverbial horse has left the barn. It's out there and no matter
how many DMCA notices get sent out, it's going to pop up again and again. We
need to be much more proactive in finding creative solutions to minimizing and/or
eliminating infringement with sites like Scribd, eSnips, etc., while at the
same time never allowing them to lose sight of the fact that what they are doing
is enabling infringement and harming authors and author estates.

In the long term, it is of critical importance that we deal with sites like
Scribd in two very clear ways: First, we must at all times act to preserve the
rights of our members. Second, we must at all times act to protect our organization
from either legal liabilities or extremely negative public relations. The first
can be accomplished by ensuring that the members of the committee are all in
agreement about the key
recommendations of the Exploratory Committee and that an author has the right
to control his/her own work. The second can be accomplished by developing sound
processes and procedures that have been vetted by the Board, the President and
the SFWA counsel. No matter what we do, the possibility, however small, exists
that someone, somewhere, sometime might cry foul. However, so long as we have
followed a sound policy, a clear procedure and acted in accordance with the
law, our position will always be defensible.

While the development of procedures and policies is a crucial and necessary
step – and this is work that, to some degree, I have already begun – we must
not wait to act immediately on situations that require our attention. We must
act, yes, but we must choose our path cautiously. The bottom line of the current...
situation... is that the previous mistakes made, however small or large one
wants to make them out to be, have created an environment both within SFWA and
in the public where every move of the new committee will be examined by those
who seek to oppose our goals and the wants and needs of our members.

It should be made clear that under the present bylaws, Vice President Andrew
Burt will be an ex officio member of the committee. And this is as it should
be. He will have a seat at the table and his voice will be heard because in
spite of the situation with Scribd, Mr. Burt has a long history of doing good
and valuable work on behalf of our members in regards to these issues. It would
do a great disservice to our members to lose the accumulated knowledge he holds
about the workings of various infringing sites. While I believe it to be necessary
that a new chair is appointed to this position, it is not necessary to tear
down or disrespect the other, very valuable work, that Mr. Burt has done in
this role.

The question may arise, what would I do (or have done) different than Andrew
in regards to Scribd? It would be foolish of me to try and second guess what
is already water under the bridge. Mistakes were made and that is over and done
with. We must move forward, rather than backward. My understanding is that Scribd
has already offered some level of solution, and I will begin reviewing what
they have presented. I have also spoken to some knowledgeable people in the
field about other avenues that might be used by sites like Scribd to minimize
the uploading of copyrighted works. But what is most important is that we do
deal with them, in good faith, and try to develop solutions that work, not from
an adversarial point of view, but from the point of view of getting them to
do what is both legal and right.

I'm almost done here, and I thank you for your patience. Now that I am appointed
to this position, I will work to ensure that all members of the committee are
working and involved and that our processes
and activities are as transparent as possible. I believe this to be important
to our success in the public eye and to our members. There will be a regular
report of activities and results achieved, as well as a continuing dialog in
the sff.private.sfwa.copyright newsgroup.

There is one final point that I'd to make. I have been fairly public about my
belief that Board members in general should not serve on committees. I still
hold this position to be true, but in light of the current situation and the
apparent lack of other candidates to fill the position, it seems a reasonable
solution. That said, as a Board member, I will recuse myself from any votes
on the Board directly involving the
Copyright Committee, as to avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest.

I hope this helps clarify at least some of the positions I hold in regards to
my role as the chair of the Copyright Committee and I invite those participating
in the discussion here to ask me any clarifying questions you may have about
this important task. I'm looking forward to the challenges of this position,
and anticipate being able to present more information about how we'll be moving
forward in the very near future.

Sincerely,

Russell Davis
Western Regional Director
Chair, Copyright Committee