USA Orphan Works bill big trouble for image makers

USA Orphan Works bill big trouble for image makers

Please go to <www.illustratorspartnership.org> and take action against the passage of the Orphan Works Bills in the USA. It only takes 2 minutes to send in a reply to Senate and State officials, etc. There are editable form letters you and your friends can use to quickly express your opposition to the bill.

I have about 400 properly copyrighted images and have produced thousands more over my 30 years as an illustrator and computer graphics professional - all protected by the Berne act of 1976. I am appalled at the effort in the United States to rewrite the copyright law - in effect orphaning millions of images (of all kinds and from all sources), even those properly copyrighted with the Copyright Office.

The Orphan Works Bill was originally designed to give copyright latitude and image use of hard to find creator's works of art to educational institutions and libraries but has been rewritten to take away our rights to our own images, forcing us to register each and every one of our images, sketches, photos -- E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G -- with yet to be established commercial registries, to be searched with "similarity finding software" (yet to be made 100% fool proof) searched by anyone in the world. This will cost all of us, as image creators, thousands to police the use of our work.

Last year, a working draft of the Orphan Works proposal suggested capping copyright infringements under the Bill, if passed, to $200 and left it up to the infringer to decide when they had searched enough for the creator of a work of art! URGENT: PLEASE GO THE THE IPA SITE AND READ UP ON THE BILL! IT'S A DISASTER WAITING TO HAPPEN! We all need everyone's help NOW! It might come up for a vote any day!

Thanks everyone,
Greg

It's a shame the site, while attractive, is so confusing.

1) Explain WTF the issue is in a simple sentence. E.g. "Stop congress from depriving us of our copyrights with this stupid bill."

2) Provide links to the things they want us to do. E.g. "Click here to download form letters to complete and send in to your congress person."

I for one couldn't figure out what to do when I got to the site.

US Orphan Works Bill will put our art, sketches and photos at risk

Stop congress from depriving us of our copyrights with this stupid bill.

Take Action: Don't Let Congress Orphan Our Work

This site is open to professional artists, photographers and any member of the image-making public.

The IPA has set up an online site for visual artists to e-mail their Senators and Representatives with one click.

2 minutes is all it takes to write Congress and protect your copyright:

http://capwiz.com/illustratorspartnership/home/

We’ve provided sample letters from individuals representing different sectors of the visual arts.

If you’re opposed to the Orphan Works act, this site is yours to use.

For international artists and our colleagues overseas, we’ve provided a special link, with a sample letter and instructions as to whom to write.

Please forward this information to every artist you know.

The Illustrators Partnership
<http://www.illustratorspartnership.org/

On the IPA site, you'll find the wording of the Orphan Works Bill and the latest News and articles covering the effort to defeat it's passage. Click on "TELL CONGRESS - Preserve Visual Artists' Copyright" box to go to the email templates that allow you to voice your opposition of this bill.