For those who have not read this in another group...
If this passes, we might as well all do a Van Gogh! Won't be able to make a living as artists any more!
From the EAG
____________
A great article has been posted by MARK SIMON
He has given permission to reprint this to any creative individuals so I have copied his article below.
Please take 10 mins to read this piece so you can really understand how this law is going to affect us. This is not just about professionals...it will cover amateurs, hobbists, your grandmother's hand made quilts...even family photos posted on the internet will be fair game to be "orphan images" and swiped up and used by companies WITHOUT YOUR OKAY.
Again, please read and at the end there is info for an email list you can join to receive notification of when to start sending your letters to your congressman.
Thanks!
Kim R.
--------Reprinted courtesy of Mark Simon---------
Mind Your Business: You Will Lose All The Rights to Your Own Art
As you know, I usually handle the subjects in my articles with a sense of humor. That is not the case this month. I find nothing funny about the new Orphan Works legislation that is before Congress. In fact, it PISSES ME OFF!
As an artist, you have to read this article or you could lose everything you've ever created!
An Orphaned Work is any creative work of art where the artist or copyright owner has released their copyright, whether on purpose, by passage of time, or by lack of proper registration. In the same way that an orphaned child loses the protection of his or her parents, your creative work can become an orphan for others to use without your permission.
If you don't like to read long articles, you will miss incredibly important information that will affect the rest of your career as an artist. You should at least skip to the end to find the link for a fantastic interview with the Illustrators' Partnership about how you are about to lose ownership of your own artwork.
Currently, you don't have to register your artwork to own the copyright. You own a copyright as soon as you create something. International law also supports this. Right now, registration allows you to sue for damages, in addition to fair value.
What makes me so MAD about this new legislation is that it legalizes THEFT! The only people who benefit from this are those who want to make use of our creative works without paying for them and large companies who will run the new private copyright registries.
These registries are companies that you would be forced to pay in order to register every single image, photo, sketch or creative work.
It is currently against international law to coerce people to register their work for copyright because there are so many inherent problems with it. But because big business can push through laws in the United States, our country is about to break with the rest of the world, again, and take your rights away.
With the tens of millions of photos and pieces of artwork created each year, the bounty for forcing everyone to pay a registration fee would be enormous. We lose our rights and our creations, and someone else makes money at our expense.
This includes every sketch, painting, photo, sculpture, drawing, video, song and every other type of creative endeavor. All of it is at risk!
If the Orphan Works legislation passes, you and I and all creatives will lose virtually all the rights to not only our future work but to everything we've created over the past 34 years, unless we register it with the new, untested and privately run (by the friends and cronies of the U.S. government) registries. Even then, there is no guarantee that someone wishing to steal your personal creations won't successfully call your work an orphan work, and then legally use it for free.
In short, if Congress passes this law, YOU WILL LOSE THE RIGHT TO MAKE MONEY FROM YOUR OWN CREATIONS!
Why is this allowed to happen? APATHY and MONEY.
Artists have apathy and corporations have money.
We need to be heard in order to protect our incomes, our creations and our careers. GET OFF YOUR ASS!
That means writing letters to our congressmen and representatives. That means voicing your opinion about how we need copyright protection, as we've had since 1976, that protects everything we create from the moment we create it. This is the case around the world.
However, an Orphan Works bill is also in the works in Europe. I was speaking recently with Roger Dean, the famed artist of the Yes album covers, and he is greatly concerned with what will happen if Orphan Works bills become law.
"This will devastate the livelihood of artists, photographers and designers in a number of ways," Dean says. "That at the behest of a few hugely rich corporations who got rich by selling art that they played no part in the making of, the U.S. and U.K. governments are changing the copyright laws to protect the infringer instead of the creator. This is unjust, culturally destructive and commercial lunacy. This will not just hurt millions of artists around the world.
"On the other side of the coin, what argument will a U.S. court have with a Chinese company that insists it did its research in China and found nothing? If the cost of this is onerous for a U.S.-based artist, what will it be like for artists and small businesses in emergent economies?"
If an artist whose work is as famous as Roger Dean's is concerned with this legislation, it should be of great concern for all of us.
The people, associations and companies behind the Orphan Works bill state that orphaned works have no value. If that were true, no one would want them. However, these same companies DO WANT your work, they just don't want to pay for it. If someone wants something, IT HAS VALUE. It's pretty simple. Some major art and photography associations, or I should say, the managers of the associations, support this bill. The reason they support it is that they will operate some of the registries and stand to make a lot of money. Some have already been given millions of dollars by the Library of Congress. Follow the money and you will see why some groups support this bill of legalized theft of everything you have ever created.
Two proponents of this new legislation are Corbis and Getty Images. They are large stock photo and stock art companies. They sell art and photos inexpensively and are trying to build giant royalty-free databases. Do you see how they could benefit from considering most works of art in the world orphans? Do you know who owns Corbis? Bill Gates. He doesn't do anything unless it can make a huge amount of money. Helping you lose the copyright to your art is big business for Gates.
For years we've heard of Hollywood fighting with China to protect copyrights and stop the pirating of DVDs. Our government has worked with the studios to protect their investment.
Our government is NOW WORKING AGAINST US by allowing our own fellow citizens TO STEAL OUR CREATIVE WORKS.
It will be easy for them to get away with it unless we make ourselves heard.
Your calls and letters do work. I've seen many instances in which a single letter made a difference in public policy. Tens of thousands of calls and letters help even more.
This is not empty talk. I have written letters to my congressmen and I will do so again. I do what I can to let every creator know about terrible legislation like this... thus you are reading articles like this one and you can listen to interviews I've posted online.
CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATOR:
Go to http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml to quickly find the phone number, address and e-mail of every U.S. senator, U.S. representative, governor and state legislator.
Forward this article to every creator you know and urge them to take a moment to protect their very livelihood. I am giving everyone the right to reprint this article in any form to help spread the word to protect our creative rights.
Instead of sitting around watching TV tonight, TiVo that show, write a letter and make yourself heard.
Letters to our government officials don't have to be long, but they should be heartfelt. A good story helps. Tell them who you are, how this legislation negatively affects you and that you want them to vote against the Orphan Works legislation. It's that easy!
If you don't, you will have only yourself to blame when you see other people making money from your art and you don't see a dime.
Spider-Man comic artist Alex Saviuk is also concerned about the loss of copyright protection. "When I found out all the negative aspects of the new legislation, it would almost behoove us to want to do something else for a living," says Saviuk. "If we would have to register with all the different companies, we would never be able to make a living."
"It would be impossible for me to register all my art," continues Saviuk. "It would put me out of business."
You can listen to my complete interview with Alex online. Think this doesn't apply to you? Maybe you don't license your artwork? How about this?
Photos on the internet could be orphaned. With tens of millions of photos shared online with services like Flickr, Shutterfly and Snapfish, there is a huge opportunity for unauthorized use of your photos... legally.
You could see photos you take of your family and kids, or of a family vacation, used in a magazine or newspaper without your permission or payment to you. You would have to pay to register your photos, all of them, in every new registry in order to protect them. Say the average person takes 300 photos per year (I take a lot more than that). If a registry only charges $5 per image, that is a whopping $1,500 to protect your photos that are protected automatically under the current laws. If there are three registries, protecting your images could cost an amazing $4,500. Not to mention the time it would take to register every photo you take. Plus, you will also have to place your copyright sign on every photo.
That's not including all your art, sketches, paintings, 3D models, animations, etc. Do you really have all that extra time and money? Plus, even if you do register, the people stealing your work can still claim it was orphaned and, unless you fight them, they win. Even if you win, you may not make back your legal fees.
It gets even better. Anyone can submit images, including your images. They would then be excused from any liability for infringement (also known as THEFT) unless the legitimate rights owner (you) responds within a certain period of time to grant or deny permission to use your work.
That means you will also have to look through every image in every registry all the time to make sure someone is not stealing and registering your art. You could actually end up illegally using your own artwork if someone else registers it. DOES ANYONE SEE A PROBLEM WITH THIS?
Do you think the U.S. Copyright Office is here to protect you from this legislation? Think again.
Brad Holland of the Illustrators' Partnership shares his notes from a recent meeting with David O. Carson, general counsel of the Copyright Office.
Brad Holland: If a user can't find a registered work at the Copyright Office, hasn't the Copyright Office facilitated the creation of an orphaned work? David O. Carson: Copyright owners will have to register their images with private registries.
BH: But what if I exercise my exclusive right of copyright and choose not to register?
DOC: If you want to go ahead and create an orphan work, be my guest!
This cavalier and disrespectful dialogue should have you seeing red. Who the hell does he think he is? Carson should be fired and RUN OUT OF WASHINGTON!
None of this could happen with our current laws. Our current laws work and they protect us and our creations.
The only people who will benefit from the copyright law change are those who can't create work on their own or companies who stand to make a lot of money from using our works of art. They make contributions to congressmen, which is why they get what they want. We need to stand up and be heard. Every one of you need to write your senators and representatives. We have to protect our livelihoods. It's that serious.
Plus, the technologies being developed for locating visual art don't work well enough. On March 13, 2008, PicScout, the creators of one of the software applications used in the registries, stated to the House IP subcommittee:
"Our technology can match images, or partial information of an image, with 99% success."
A 1% margin of error is huge when you consider the millions of searches performed for art every day. That means for every million searches, 10,000 images could be orphaned.
Plus, this only takes into account images registered on their system. If you have registered all your work on another system, they won't be searched here and, even though you may have spent thousands of dollars registering your creations, a new or unused directory could orphan everything you've ever created.
This is just one of the many reasons why INTERNATIONAL LAW FORBIDS COERCED REGISTRATION as a condition of protecting your copyright. The United States is about to break international law by making us register our works. The people behind the bill say it's not forced registration, but you won't have any rights unless you register. THIS IS SEMANTICS! Of course, this is forced registration and we can't stand for it!
There are many, many other problems with the Orphan Works legislation. As a creator, YOU MUST understand what is going on.
For additional information on Orphan Works developments, go to the IPA Orphan Works Resource Page for Artists.
This is not something that is going to go away easily. We need to be vocal NOW!
This legislation has been beaten or delayed for the past two years and they will keep trying until it passes. This is no time to be quiet and see what happens. What will happen depends on you. Send e-mails and call your congressmen. Ownership of your own creations depends on it.
Roger Dean sums this up well. "Where are the colleges and universities in all this? Has the whole world gone to sleep?"
GET ON ORPHAN WORKS E-MAIL LIST
To be notified of the latest information on the Orphan Works bill and when to contact your legislators, send an email to illustratorspartnership@cnymail.com and ask to be added to the Orphan Works list.
-------------end of reprint----------------------
--
Guard with tenderness small things that have no words
This is an update:
This is a real threat, not a 'MYTH'! More reading!Here's the link, but, I'm also posting its content so y'all can skim it easy!
http://www.illustratorspartnership.org/01_topics/article.php?searchterm=00264
Orphan Works – No Myth
by Brad Holland
We’ve seen “Six Misconceptions About Orphan Works” circulating on the Internet. It’s a well-reasoned piece, but has one problem. The author cites current copyright law to “debunk” concerns about an amendment that would change the law she cites.
How would the proposed amendment change the law? We’ll get to that and other questions in a minute. But first, let’s answer the broader charge that news of an Orphan Works bill is just “an internet myth.”
Q: There is no Orphan Works bill before Congress – one was introduced in 2006, but it was never voted on.
A: Correct. The last bill died in Congress because of intense opposition from illustrators, photographers, fine artists, and textile designers. The Illustrators’ Partnership testified against it in both the House and Senate. http://www.illustratorspartnership.org/01_topics/article.php?searchterm=00203
Q: So if the bill is dead, why warn everybody about it now?
A: Because a new bill is due out momentarily. According to Andrew Noyes of the National Journal:
“Legislation aimed at reworking a portion of U.S. copyright law dealing with ‘orphan works’... will likely be a priority for the panel headed by House Judiciary Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property Subcommittee Chairman Howard Berman, D-Calif., in the spring...
“American Library Association copyright specialist Carrie Russell said her members are ‘excited about having orphan works legislation’ move this session,’” adding: “the House effort is ‘so close to being a done deal that we’re on the edge of our seats.’” -Intellectual Property -Progress Seen on Developing ‘Orphan Works’ Legislation, by Andrew Noyes © National Journal Group, Inc. 02-21-2008
Q: But if there isn’t a new bill yet, how can we know what’s going to be in it?
A: Our information indicates the new bill will be basically the same as the old one. According to the Copyright Clearance Center:
“Subcommittee chairman Howard Berman made it quite clear that he intends to introduce new orphan works legislation shortly... It is likely the new bill will look very similar to The Orphan Works Act of 2006.” http://onCopyright.copyright.com/2008/03/17/orphan-works-are-back-on-congress%e2%80%99s-radar-screen...
Q: But if it’s due out shortly, why not wait until it’s been introduced before we oppose it?
A: To quote from the Copyright Clearance Center:
“Since this is an election year, and re-election campaigns will be in full swing by late summer, new orphan works legislation will probably be fast-tracked to reach the floor of the House by mid-May”. http://onCopyright.copyright.com/2008/03/17/orphan-works-are-back-on-congress%e2%80%99s-radar-screen...
Since that would give us only a month to notify artists, we decided to start now.
Q: Do we have any direct corroboration for these press reports?
A: Since the last bill died, we’ve met with:
- Chairman Berman
- Attorneys from the Copyright Office
- Representatives of the House and Senate Subcommittees
- A lobbyist for Getty and Corbis. (Getty and Corbis oppose the bill, but are negotiating for favorable concessions.)
Q: Where did we get the idea that the Copyright Office wants to impose for-profit registries?
A: That proposal has been there from the beginning. Two examples (with emphasis added), the first from page 106 of the Copyright Office’s 2006 Orphan Works Report:
“e believe that registries are critically important, if not indispensable, to addressing the orphan works problem...It is our view that such registries are better developed in the private sector...” http://www.copyright.gov/orphan/orphan-report.pdf
And on January 29 2007, twenty visual arts groups met in Washington D.C. with attorneys from the Copyright Office. The attorneys stated that the Copyright Office would not create these “indispensable” registries because it would be “too expensive.” So I asked the Associate Register for Policy & International Affairs:
Holland: If a user can’t find a registered work at the Copyright Office, hasn’t the Copyright Office facilitated the creation of an orphaned work?
Carson: Copyright owners will have to register their images with private registries.
Holland: But what if I exercise my exclusive right of copyright and choose not to register?
Carson: If you want to go ahead and create an orphan work, be my guest!
- From my notes of the meeting
This exchange suggests that if Copyright Office proposals become law:
- Unregistered work will be considered a potential orphan from the moment you create it.
- In the U.S., copyright will no longer be the exclusive right of the copyright holder.
Q: What does it mean to say your copyright is an “exclusive right”?
A: Under existing law, “ copyright gives the owner the exclusive right to reproduce, distribute, perform, display, or licens...
Today, 08:10 AM
Update on Orphan Works Act (April 23/08)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -
yesterday (April 22) the Illustrators Partnership received draft copies of the new Orphan Works Act from the House and Senate.The Act has not been officially released, but they have been told the Senate will do so this week.
And the Act has not signifigantly changed from the one tabled in 2006. We still are at risk of losing here.
You can have copyright on works for 1,000 years, but this bill will give people the legal right to use your work without permission IF they conducted a search "in good faith" and could not find you to ask permission. And what a "search in good faith" constitutes still has not been clarified.
--
Guard with tenderness small things that have no words
Thank you Ann, I really appreciate your research!
--
Guard with tenderness small things that have no words
Orphan Works BillS a Reality- WRITE NOW!!
----------------------------------------------------------
There are currently TWO Orphan Works Bills on the table and they are looking to fast track them.
I have seen the outrage that one person can cause amoungst this group of artists, so I know the passion that the EAG members have...this situation is much bigger and has many more far-reaching consequences. Please write now, this is not a bill you want passed!!
I have copied below a message from my Illustrators list.
Thanks, Kim R.
--->
Time to write! Please take action now! These proposed changes to the copyright law affect YOU!
The changes in the copyright laws proposed under the new "Orphan Works" bill have been released and it will affect your creative career!
*Write your Reps and Senators.
Refer to Bill H.R. 5889 when writing a House Rep.
Refer to Bill S. 2913 when writing a Senator.
*(Same Orphan Works bill, different #'s for Senate and House.)
Go to: http://capwiz.com/gag/dbq/officials to get the contact info for your state's officials.
This affects all of us, painters, photographers and designers alike and is getting fast tracked to get through now.
*Please take time to write! Fax or snail mail in addition to any emails you'd send too please.*
A sample letters is below at the end of this email.
For more info on this matter go to: http://www.illustratorspartnership.org
This was posted by Stella on "The Art of Licensing" Yahoo group I belong to and sums up the consequences if this bill passes:
"If we do not stop BOTH Orphan Works Bills NOW-
It does not matter that you created it.
It does not matter that you have a copyright mark on it.
It does not matter that it is registered in the Library of Congress.
It does not matter that you signed it.
It does not matter that you put a big fat watermark across it.
It does not matter that you put digital signatures on it.
It does not matter if you get a lawyer- you will get a pittance determined by the offending company and no reimbursement for legal fees.
It does not matter even if you do as they demand and pay to register it in the new registries that they will form - there is no real
punishment for using your work for profit.
It does not matter that you do not want your image used on a product or to promote an agenda.
They can even sell your prints and make money!"
Here is a sample letter you can edit and send to your local and/ or state representatives and Senators. These letters work best when you make your point clear, do not curse, and make them aware that you live in their district or state and can vote for or against them.
Feel free to make this personal with your story on how the Orphan Works legislation will harm your income. Stories are incredibly powerful.
Faxes work better than e-mails, as e-mails are too easy to delete.
Congressman/
Congresswoman/Senator (their name)
(their contact info)
Fax: (their fax number)
Re: The Orphan Works legislation Bill # (either H.R. 5889 or S. 2913
depending who you're writing)
Dear (their name),
My name is (your name) and I live in (your city, state). After reading about the Orphan Works bill, I am shocked and outraged that this could happen in our country.
This Orphan Works legislation, if passed, will severely impact my income and life as an artist. Not only will it give license for others to legally steal and use my work for free, it will be virtually impossible for me to afford the time and money to register my creations in all the potential new registries.
(your personal story if you wish. It should show hardship under the new bill)
I strongly urge you to vote AGAINST the Orphan Works bill and protect my rights, my copyrights, to all that I have and will create.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
(your name)
(your address)
------
PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO EVERY ARTIST YOU KNOW! THANKS!!!
__________________
Kim Ratigan
Web: www.justagallery.com
ArtBlog: apps.justagallery.com/blog
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#2 Yesterday, 06:16 PM
ratback
Member Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 79
Re: Orphan Works BillS a Reality- WRITE NOW!!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -
And here is another version, more in depth and professional, better suited for those that have actual companies/sole proprietor businesses:
SUBJECT:
The Shawn Bentley Orphan Acts of 2008 (S. 2913) and The Orphan Works Act of 2008 (H.R. 5889)-PLEASE VETO!
I am (list state, district) illustrator and author who licenses my art and writes published books and magazine articles to earn a living. I am not a hobbyist. I am (incorporated or operate) as (name company name), and run my(list town) studio as a business, paying corporate taxes and filing all legal documents per the law. I have been registering my images with the Copyright Office for over (number) years, own the rights to (list approximate number) of images I've created and am currently entitled under the law to be awarded damages and legal fees if I bring suit against an infringer and win the suit.
Under two new bills being proposed in both Houses, however, all that will
change.
Late last week, two versions of the Orphan Works bill were introduced simultaneously to both the U.S. House of Representative and the U.S. Senate.
Both the Senate version, S.2913, and the House version, H.R.5889 are very similar in nature and closely mirror the Orphan Works Act of 2006. I am adamantly opposed to these bills! They open up a Pandora's box capable of destroying the rights of all intellectual copyright owners. These bills MUST be vetoed!
These bills are merely reformatted versions of the defeated Orphan Works Act of 2006 but they are currently being catapulted through both the Senate and House at lightening speed, possibly being "piggy-backed" onto another bill that will pass unopposed.
If passed in their current forms, the repercussions from these bills will adversely affect every single intellectual property owner including artists, photographers, illustrators, manufacturers, publishers and more. In a nutshell, the bills will create a huge loophole for anyone to reproduce or use copyrighted materials in any way they choose (including for profit). At the same time, it also removes current existing legal punishment for copyright infringement by removing damage and legal fee awards for those whose works are infringed or stolen.
In our current economic climate and controversies about politics and war, Congressional leaders have much more to worry about than this "little" bill.
And that is exactly why it is being timed like this by its proponents and being rushed for a vote so quickly in May.
The original intent of the Orphan Works Act of 2006 was to allow non-profit and education institutions to publish or use images without the danger of being sued (including paying damages and legal fees) if they could not find the owner of the copyrights. No one disagrees with this original intent.
However, for-profit organizations including large stock image companies and visual foundations, as well as other "for- profit" companies who would gain substantially in revenue if they could avoid paying licensing or use fees, got wind of this bill and are backing & lobbying for its passage. The 2006 bill was narrowly defeated but has now resurfaced as the two bills introduced last week and poses the same dangers as before.
If these bills are passed, anyone who chooses to use images FOR PROFIT without permission or ownership will have to first be caught, as our copyright laws currently state. BUT then, according to the proposed bills, all an infringer needs do is claim they performed a "due diligent search" and couldn't locate the copyright owner so the images they used could be declared "orphans". The only "penalty" for using these "orphan" images without permission or ownership will be a vaguely worded "reasonable compensation". The actual owner of the images whose rights would have been infringed will not be entitled to any damages or legal fees! Except for big properties & brand owners like Disney or American Greetings, how many artists, photographers, etc would be able to even FILE suit for infringement, much less hire an IP attorney or go to trial if needed.if these bills are passed? None! So artists like me would lose our rights but the thieves would go unpunished.
Two of my main concerns about the bills are
(1) what constitutes "reasonable compensation" & how that would be determined and
(2) the inability of a legal, registered copyright owner to recoup legal fees in order to defend our copyrights. In addition, the bills offer a solution for artists to register their images in privately owned registries that don't even currently exist.and at additional expense to the creator! Not only do these registries not exist, there is no way to control how many registries would be created by private for profit companies or if they would be synchronized in searchable data.
From a larger perspective, the effects of these bills, as currently worded, would also hurt small business and discourage entrepreneurship. This will only add to our current economic problems, loss of jobs and possibly affecting U.S. goods being imported into Europe and other countries.plus a worldwide association that would parallel China's poor reputation for not respecting copyright ownership. This Orphan Works legislation, if passed, will severely impact and permanently damage my income and life as an artist.
Not only will it give license for others to legally steal and use my work for free, it will be virtually impossible for me to afford the time and money to register my creations in all the potential new registries.
I strongly urge you to vote AGAINST the Orphan Works bill and protect my rights, my copyrights, to all that I have and will create.
For more information from those opposing this legislation please visit:
http://www.sellyourtvconceptnow.com/orphan.html or
www.IllustratorsPar tnership.org
Thank you,
(Your name, complete address, phone, fax, email and websites)
__________________
----------------------------------------------------------
Last edited by ratback : Yesterday at 06:22 PM.
And here is another version, more in depth and professional, better suited for those that have actual companies/sole proprietor businesses:
SUBJECT:
The Shawn Bentley Orphan Acts of 2008 (S. 2913) and The Orphan Works Act of 2008 (H.R. 5889)-PLEASE VETO!
I am (list state, district) illustrator and author who licenses my art and writes published books and magazine articles to earn a living. I am not a hobbyist. I am (incorporated or operate) as (name company name), and run my(list town) studio as a business, paying corporate taxes and filing all legal documents per the law. I have been registering my images with the Copyright Office for over (number) years, own the rights to (list approximate number) of images I've created and am currently entitled under the law to be awarded damages and legal fees if I bring suit against an infringer and win the suit.
Under two new bills being proposed in both Houses, however, all that will
change.
Late last week, two versions of the Orphan Works bill were introduced simultaneously to both the U.S. House of Representative and the U.S. Senate.
Both the Senate version, S.2913, and the House version, H.R.5889 are very similar in nature and closely mirror the Orphan Works Act of 2006. I am adamantly opposed to these bills! They open up a Pandora's box capable of destroying the rights of all intellectual copyright owners. These bills MUST be vetoed!
These bills are merely reformatted versions of the defeated Orphan Works Act of 2006 but they are currently being catapulted through both the Senate and House at lightening speed, possibly being "piggy-backed" onto another bill that will pass unopposed.
If passed in their current forms, the repercussions from these bills will adversely affect every single intellectual property owner including artists, photographers, illustrators, manufacturers, publishers and more. In a nutshell, the bills will create a huge loophole for anyone to reproduce or use copyrighted materials in any way they choose (including for profit). At the same time, it also removes current existing legal punishment for copyright infringement by removing damage and legal fee awards for those whose works are infringed or stolen.
In our current economic climate and controversies about politics and war, Congressional leaders have much more to worry about than this "little" bill.
And that is exactly why it is being timed like this by its proponents and being rushed for a vote so quickly in May.
The original intent of the Orphan Works Act of 2006 was to allow non-profit and education institutions to publish or use images without the danger of being sued (including paying damages and legal fees) if they could not find the owner of the copyrights. No one disagrees with this original intent.
However, for-profit organizations including large stock image companies and visual foundations, as well as other "for- profit" companies who would gain substantially in revenue if they could avoid paying licensing or use fees, got wind of this bill and are backing & lobbying for its passage. The 2006 bill was narrowly defeated but has now resurfaced as the two bills introduced last week and poses the same dangers as before.
If these bills are passed, anyone who chooses to use images FOR PROFIT without permission or ownership will have to first be caught, as our copyright laws currently state. BUT then, according to the proposed bills, all an infringer needs do is claim they performed a "due diligent search" and couldn't locate the copyright owner so the images they used could be declared "orphans". The only "penalty" for using these "orphan" images without permission or ownership will be a vaguely worded "reasonable compensation". The actual owner of the images whose rights would have been infringed will not be entitled to any damages or legal fees! Except for big properties & brand owners like Disney or American Greetings, how many artists, photographers, etc would be able to even FILE suit for infringement, much less hire an IP attorney or go to trial if needed.if these bills are passed? None! So artists like me would lose our rights but the thieves would go unpunished.
Two of my main concerns about the bills are
(1) what constitutes "reasonable compensation" & how that would be determined and
(2) the inability of a legal, registered copyright owner to recoup legal fees in order to defend our copyrights. In addition, the bills offer a solution for artists to register their images in privately owned registries that don't even currently exist.and at additional expense to the creator! Not only do these registries not exist, there is no way to control how many registries would be created by private for profit companies or if they would be synchronized in searchable data.
From a larger perspective, the effects of these bills, as currently worded, would also hurt small business and discourage entrepreneurship. This will only add to our current economic problems, loss of jobs and possibly affecting U.S. goods being imported into Europe and other countries.plus a worldwide association that would parallel China's poor reputation for not respecting copyright ownership. This Orphan Works legislation, if passed, will severely impact and permanently damage my income and life as an artist.
Not only will it give license for others to legally steal and use my work for free, it will be virtually impossible for me to afford the time and money to register my creations in all the potential new registries.
I strongly urge you to vote AGAINST the Orphan Works bill and protect my rights, my copyrights, to all that I have and will create.
For more information from those opposing this legislation please visit:
http://www.sellyourtvconceptnow.com/orphan.html or
www.IllustratorsPar tnership.org
Thank you,
(Your name, complete address, phone, fax, email and websites)
__________________
Kim Ratigan
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Guard with tenderness small things that have no words
More reading...with arguments from the other side....
http://www.publicknowledge.org/node/1537
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Guard with tenderness small things that have no words
