PEN American Center - OFAC Regulations

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OFAC REGULATIONS

Seeking guarantees that publishers can issue works from embargoed countries without facing criminal or civil penalties.

PRESS RELEASES

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March 4, 2004:
PEN protests Treasury Department regulations that interfere with publishing
PEN requests an immediate review of OFAC regulations that could be interpreted to bar or restrict in any way the publication of literature-and indeed any information and informational materials-originating in countries subject to U.S. trade embargo. >> More

April 5, 2004:
First Amendment problems remain in wake of latest OFAC pronouncement
A letter sent by the director of OFAC to the IEEE leaves many questions unanswered with respect to Treasury Department regulations governing the publication of informational materials from countries subject to U.S. trade embargo. >> More

September 27, 2004:
PEN, publishers file suit to overturn information restrictions
PEN joined publishing groups in filing suit in a challenge to regulations governing the publication of informational materials from countries subject to U.S. trade embargo. >> More

December 15, 2004:
Treasury Department Changes Regulations
OFAC issued new regulations today which explicitly permit Americans to engage in "all transactions necessary and ordinarily incident to the publishing and marketing of manuscripts, books, journals, and newspapers in paper or electronic format." >> More

PRESS

>> Full Press Archive

February 21, 2004 | Los Angeles Times | U.S. Embargo Extended to Editing Articles
For U.S. publishers, changing so much as a comma in an author's work can be more than a delicate process. >> More

February 28, 2004 | New York Times | Treasury Dept. is warning publishers of the perils of editing
Writers often grumble about the criminal things editors do to their prose. The federal government has recently weighed in on the same issue — literally. >> More

September 29, 2004 | New York Times | Ending Editorial Oversight at the Treasury Department
No matter how the Treasury Department's ruling is framed, denying editorial cooperation of this kind deprives us as much as it does the sanctioned countries. >> More

November 16, 2004 | New York Times | Bound But Gagged
I learned, sometimes in the face of tragedy, that the written word is often the most powerful—and only—tool that we have to protect those who are powerless. >> More


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