Authors Guild Advocacy Letters and Amicus Curiae Briefs

Authors Guild Signatory Letters

8/20/20 – Authors Guild, Copyright Law Expert File Brief Clarifying the Copyright Act’s “Library and Archives” Exclusion

8/17/20 – Joint letter with AAP and ABA to Congressman Cicilline, Chair of the House Antitrust Subcommittee, expressing our concerns with Amazon’s monopoly and monopsony power 

7/17/20 – Joint statement to Congress asking it to fix the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program re: Mixed Income Earners.

7/17/20 – Letter in Support of Anti SLAPP & NYSBA Media Law Committee Memorandum Re A5991A & S52A

7/9/20 – Letter to Missouri Department of Corrections in support of prisoners’ right to write and publish a book.

6/5/20 – Letter to Senators McConnell & Schumer and Reps. Pelosi and McCarthy asking Congress to provide libraries with $2 billion dollars in COVID-19 financial relief.

5/26/20 – Joint letter with CBLDF criticizing the removal of a cartoon satirizing President Trump.

5/21/20 – Open letter to Internet Archive and Brewster Kahle demanding that the “National Emergency Library” be shut down.

5/14/20 – Joint open letter with NBCC regarding the need for book reviews.

5/14/20 – Copyright Alliance letter to Congress on value of copyright during COVID-19.

5/13/20 – Freelancer Union letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi regarding stimulus eligibility for freelancers.

4/29/20 – NCAC letter to Alaska school board regarding “potentially controversial” books.

4/22/20 – PEN open letter from literary arts organizations to New York City Council Members.

4/22/20 – NCAC letter regarding anti-LGBTQ book bans.

4/16/20 – NCAC letter supporting a right to protest during the pandemic.

4/14/20 – Letter to Congress regarding clarification of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance to apply to freelancers and independent contractors.

3/19/20 – ASAE template letters sent to Representative Malone and Senators Schumer & Gillibrand asking for relief for NFPs in coronavirus stimulus packages.

1/24/20 – NCAC statement condemning Missouri Library Censorship Bill.

1/17/20 – Letter to US Trade Representative regarding South African IP regime.

10/21/19 – NCAC letter regarding Columbia County, GA schools excluding three novels.

3/7/19 – AAUP statement opposing President Trump’s executive order regarding campus free speech.

3/6/19 – Open Markets letter to Department of Justice Antitrust Division opposing the merger of largest two U.S. printers.

2/19/19 – NWU controlled digital lending FAQs.

2/19/19 – NCAC letter regarding the removal of Fun Home from Hunterdon County, NJ high schools.

12/5/18 – SPLC letter regarding the censorship of an Arkansas high school newspaper.

11/28/18 – NCAC letter regarding the Florida Department of Corrections impounding prison paper The Militant.

10/19/18 – Letter to Pennsylvania Department of Corrections to protest its policy preventing friends, family, or charitable organizations from sending books directly to prisoners.

8/17/18 – NCAC joint statement regarding President Trump’s letter to Simon & Schuster.

8/8/18 – Letter to Group Nine Media in support of the Thrillist Union and their efforts to secure a fair employment contract for writers in digital media.

8/2/18 – Letter to the White House Press Secretary protesting the prevention of CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins from covering a Rose Garden event.

7/10/18 – Letter to South Carolina Fraternal Order of Police for pressuring the removal of The Hate U Give from high school summer reading list.

6/21/18 – NCAC letter regarding the removal of The Hate U Give from South Carolina high school reading list.

3/7/18 – IAF letter addressed to the Canadian Parliament expressing concern about the overexpansion of Canada’s fair dealing (i.e., fair use) exceptions for educational uses.

2/19/18 – NCAC letter regarding the removal of To Kill a Mockingbird and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from Duluth, MN curriculum.

2/19/18 – NCAC letter regarding the removal of Looking for Alaska from Clinton, NC school.

2/19/18 – NCAC letter regarding the removal of The Hate U Give from Springfield, MO classrooms.

2/6/18 – NCAC letter regarding a challenge to The Giver in McKinney, TX elementary school.

11/30/17 – NCAC letter regarding the removal of A Bad Boy Can Be Good for A Girl from Cody, WY high school.

Authors Guild Amicus Briefs

Estate of Steinbeck v. Kaffaga.

Austin v. Illinois.

Google v. Oracle.

Chronicle Books et al. v. Audible.

Prison Legal News v. Jones.

PEN America Center v. Trump.

Fourth Estate v. Wall-Street.com.

Authors Guild Copyright Office Comments

8/5/20 – Joint Comments to the US Copyright Office about Modernizing Recordation of Notices of Termination.

8/1/20 – Comments to the US Copyright Office about Rule Requiring Deposits of Electronic Books for the Library of Congress’ Collections.

3/19/20 – On the Copyright Office’s definition of “publication.”

2/19/19 – On “Group Registration of Short Literary Works.”

Authors Guild Statements

6/10/20 – Support of publishing workers’ day of solidarity against racial inequality.

6/4/20 – Opposition to President Trump’s executive order on Twitter.

11/8/19 – Condemnation of Trump administration efforts to pressure Hachette to identify the anonymous author of A Warning.

Authors Guild Government Comments

1/17/20 – Joint comments to US Trade Representative on South Africa’s IP practices.

1/10/20 – Comments to USPTO on Artificial Intelligence.

7/29/19 – Comments to Department of Commerce on “Combating Trafficking in Counterfeit and Pirated Goods.”