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Pending Law Reduces Copyright Protection for Artists

05/07/2008 10:20:50 / other

The so call "orphaned works" legislation, which was defeated in 2006, has been re-introduced. This is a complicated body of legislation and it's not all bad... but there are some serious consequences for artists:

  1. Under the proposed laws, if the copyright holder for a work of art can't be identified or found, the work is considered "orphaned" and can be freely used.
  2. Further, if the copyright owner later comes forward, the damages they can collect for infringement are extremely limited.
  3. In order to protect their works, artists will need to register them with private, pay-to-register services.

It's URGENT that you write your congressman and senators and ask them to oppose the House Resolution 5889 and Senate Bill 2913.

Key points to include in your letter:

  • Your livelihood as an artist will be directly affected.
  • There is no need for the legislation. There is a simple solution to the 'orphaned works' question under current law: if you can't identify the copyright holder, don't use the work!

For more information:

http://phyllisdobbs.info/2008/04/29/orphan-works-act-being-rushed-through-congress-to-the-detri ment-of-illustrators-artists-photographers-designers-authors-and-all-creati ve-perple/

http://www.stockartistsalliance.org/orphan-works

http://www.nppa.org/news_and_events/news/2008/04/orphan01.html






VIEWING 1 - 1 OUT OF 1 COMMENTS



From: mlhooper
05/07/2008 12:04:30
Thanks for this








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