The Irvin Muchnick Disease

"The destruction of the Freelance Class Action Settlement is my proudest achievement"
           ---Irvin Muchnick


This is a story how one deranged individual manipulated the legal system and in the process harmed thousands of hard-working writers.

In 2001, Jonathan Tasini prevailed in a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case which concluded that publishers violated freelance writers' copyright protection.  The publishers posted and re-sold articles to internet databases without compensating the author. 

This ruling left the door open for a class action settlement, which was negotiated and finalized by 2005.  Ken Feinberg, universally acclaimed for his mediation of the 2001 World Trade Center claims, oversaw the negotiations.  In a common sense framework, those who registered their works received more than those who did not.  The settlement was divided into three classes (A, B, and C).  It was capped at $18 million, including attorney fees.

There were several fairness hearings in District Court in New York.  One person, Irvin Muchnick, was vocal in his opposition to the settlement.  Mr. Muchnick convinced nine other claimants to join him in objecting to the settlement.  The District Court heard all arguments and dismissed Muchnick's claims.

It is critical to note that the objectors were given the opportunity to opt out of the settlement and pursue litigation on their own.  Several hundred writers did just that.  Muchnick and the objectors did not.

Citing a myriad of reasons, the objectors appealed to the Court of Appeals, setting off a chain of events that as of February, 2013, has prevented writers from collecting settlement money.

After a lengthy delay, the Court of Appeals did not rule on the merits of the case and instead declared they did not have the jurisdiction to act.  That ruling was appealed to the United States Supreme Court, which overturned that opinion and sent the case back to the Court of Appeals.  After another long delay, the Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision, ruled that the C-class did not have proper representation and remanded the case back to District Court, where the case is currently stalled.

Mr. Muchnick appealed the settlement on numerous grounds.  The one he trumpeted was his self-coined "License by Default."  In a nonsensical display of illogic, Muchnick claimed the publishers and internet search engines could not take away authors' future rights.  The ironic part of the Court of Appeals ruling was the unanimous dismissal of that concept, as the original settlement gave writers the opportunity to receive more money in lieu of future rights to the product.

The one area where Muchnick won a split decision of the Court of Appeals was the C-reduction, which reduced C-class claims in the event the total claims exceeded $18 million.  In the panel, two of three judges decided the onus for the capped amount should not fall entirely on the C-class.  The court suggested the District Court provide more suitable representation for the C-class.

The matter has been stuck in District Court for more than a year, while the parties presumably negotiate an amended settlement.

Here's the bottom line.  The settlement was specifically for freelance writers, who by definition did not receive benefits.  It was designed to punish the publishers for unauthorized re-use.

Muchnick had some grandiose scheme to turn freelance payments into some sort of royalty system.  Not only is that idea impratical, but it backfired.  As a result of the settlement, writers are now required to sign away future rights when the works are originally purchased.  So now, not only did the writers receive no money for past infractions, they are prohibited from future compensation.  Good job, Irv.

If you read past posts from his blog, it is obvious Muchnick's main objection was the amount of money the lawyers were to receive.  His disdain for the welfare of his fellow writers is painfully obvious. 

Muchnick has done his damage and has moved on.  He's now crusading about concussions in sports and sex scandals in the sport of swimming.  He's trying desperately to be an investigative reporter, but is failing miserably.  His "concern" in these two areas obviously is phony, and it shows in his biased writing.  No one will talk to him about these subjects and he's reduced to reprinting others' posts.

He should not be allowed to just move freely to another subject after causing so much damage to freelancers.  If you are a writer and feel just as strongly about this matter, go to his blog (Freelance Rights) and his twitter account (@irvmuch) and  voice your opinion.

Here is Irvin Muchnick's public information should you want to let him know how you feel:

Registered through: GoDaddy.com, LLC (http://www.godaddy.com)
Domain Name: CONCUSSIONINC.NET
Created on: 08-Jul-11
Expires on: 08-Jul-15
Last Updated on: 15-Apr-12

Registrant:
Irvin Muchnick
P.O. Box 9629
Berkeley, California 94709
United States

Administrative Contact:
Muchnick, Irvin irvmuch@yahoo.com
P.O. Box 9629
Berkeley, California 94709
United States
510-588-5405

Technical Contact:
Muchnick, Irvin irvmuch@yahoo.com
P.O. Box 9629
Berkeley, California 94709
United States
510-588-5405

Domain servers in listed order:
NS23.DOMAINCONTROL.COM
NS24.DOMAINCONTROL.COM

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This blog was instituted for all the freelance writers who are upset with Irvin Muchnick's destruction of the settlement which would have paid millions of dollars to thousands of hard-working writers.  Irvin Muchnick is an evil person whose mission in life is to cause harm to others.

Feel free to post any thoughts on Irvin Muchnick.  Unlike Mr. Muchnick's blog, this site will never be censored.