Hello Mehmet. Thank you so much for writing these responses to your writers’ concerns about Medium’s new TOS.
Below in 3 paragraphs is an excerpt Linda Caroll. Included in her article about the new TOS:
You retain your rights to any content you submit, post or display on or through the Services.
Unless otherwise agreed in writing, by submitting, posting, or displaying content on or through the Services, you grant Medium a nonexclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, fully paid, and sublicensable license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, publicly perform and display your content and any name, username or likeness provided in connection with your content in all media formats and distribution methods now known or later developed without compensation to you.
We also retain the right to create limits on use and storage and may remove or limit content distribution on the Services. [full new terms here]
I am NOT a lawyer so this is my opinion, only. I think the second paragraph in italics above cancels the first one in terms of our published writing on Medium. To this extent: yes we own it( first paragraph) but now they own it too. Medium can do whatever they want with it and not compensate us.
Absolutely Medium need to clarify this. Medium sending a newsletter post that says:
You own all the content you post on Medium, and we make no claims to it, nor will we ever in the future.
We do not, and will not, sell your information. Ever.
I do not believe a newsletter/ post/ email with the words above can override a legal Terms of Service. Medium needs to address the wording in the TOS directly and not skate around it with vague assurances.
Or…maybe it is exactly what it appears to be. There is a strong possibility that it is all now decided by Medium and carved in stone.
In your first article you noted your own experiences, Mehmet, with allowing your work to be posted under another’s name. You were compensated for this. I totally understand that in addition to the comp, you were comfortable with other parts of the arrangement. The difference here for a writers work on a Medium in a similar situation to your previous one: no compensation, no control, no recourse.
A number of writers have expressed concern about the whole trust issue as this issue unfolds. I think we all understand that.
Linda’s excerpt in paragraph 3 at the top also identifies storage and retention issues.
Please keep us posted as you always do, Mehmet. We all appreciate it so very much. Your support is wonderful.
