By Gloria Hildebrandt

If you write for magazines or newspapers, you might be surprised to find your work published on the Web without your being paid for it. Provided that you sell or license one-time use of your copyright, which is standard procedure for periodical publishing, no one is legally able to store, archive or carry your writing, photographs or graphics in electronic formats without your permission, which usually means paying extra for this. If you haven’t been paid for Web use of your work, it’s never too late to point out that you are owed money. It has been my experience that I can get proper compensation for this.

Every few months, I check for unauthorized use of my copyright by using a search engine to look for my name. Occasionally I find previously-published work of mine on a Web site, for which I have neither given permission nor gotten paid.

First, I print out a copy of my online article, as proof that it was carried on the site. Then, I e-mail the Web site contact, expressing my pleasure at their valuing my work so much that they want to include it in their site. Unfortunately, I point out, they have not paid for this use of my copyright, and are in violation of my copyright, which is a federal offence. (So far I have only found Canadian sites carrying my work.) I attach an invoice to the e-mail message, and await payment.

How Much?

How much to charge for illegal electronic use of copyright is debatable. Some people wish for a punitive amount, citing precedents of $5,000 to $10,000 for copyright infringement. Others want an amount equal to the fee they were first paid for the work. I see electronic use of previously-published material as a second use of my copyright, and am happy with 50 per cent of the original fee, which was the journalistic standard when I entered the business. I also think it is a perfectly reasonable amount that all publishers can pay. For this fee, I grant a one-year licence to carry my work, which is generous, seeing as most magazines circulate my work for only one month. That leaves me free to licence my work again or elsewhere if there is continued interest in carrying it electronically.

Will They Cough Up?

I have been successful each time I found someone illegally using my work. I usually first get correspondence or calls from the offenders, claiming they thought they had permission or the fact that they routinely carry all their contributors’ work online. Some point out how much valuable exposure I am getting from being carried on their site. Some explain that they are a worthy, non-profit organization.

I am not swayed by any of these excuses. I say that unless they have my signature agreeing to their electronic use of my work, they do not have my permission, and must pay.

Won’t Creators Suffer?

It’s true that I have not been asked to work again for an offending publication after I asked for payment for my e-rights. But I don’t want to work for people who don’t pay me properly.

As for getting valuable exposure from their site, I don’t believe that I’ll get any benefits from being associated with organizations that misuse copyright. To those who know, they will gain reputations for being underfunded or unethical.

There is always the chance that Web site managers will strip out my byline and run my work without my name, which would make it next to impossible for me to find illegal uses of my work. But these sites want to publish my name. With its reputation for good writing, accurate research and sensitive reporting, my name adds much-needed credibility to their sites. If that’s the case, they will have to pay for it. It’s only fair.

Gloria Hildebrandt is a writer, researcher, editor and communications consultant. Contact her for samples of more than 19 years of magazine writing.