Breaking NEWS 5/19/2008
Journal Entry: Mon May 19, 2008, 5:45 PM
- Mood:
Sadness - Listening to: my head ache!!!!!
- Reading: Orphan Works info
- Watching: OW head for the Senate Judiciary Committee
- Eating: lost my appetite
- Drinking: water
Write right now! Fight the Orphan Rights Act.
From Mark Simon & the Illustrator's Partnership of America
Hi all,
I've been fighting this bill for months. It affects all of us. Please take a couple of minutes to protect the rights you own to your own creations.
Read below on how easy it is to send another letter to Congress. You can't wait!
Mark Simon
Animatics & Storyboards, Inc.
Sell Your TV Concept Now, Inc
----- Original Message -----
From: Illustrators Partnership
To: IPA-OW 2
Sent: Monday, May 19, 2008 1:30 PM
Subject: Call to Action: Please Write Again NOW
FROM THE ILLUSTRATORS' PARTNERSHIP
Call to Action
Last Thursday the Senate Judiciary Committee endorsed their Orphan Works Act.
It is now headed for the full Senate.
If you've written before, now's the time to write again.
Urge your senator to oppose this bill.
Because it has been negotiated behind closed doors, introduced on short notice and fast-tracked for imminent passage without open hearings, ask that this bill not be passed until it can be exposed to an open, informed and transparent public debate.
We've drafted a special letter for this purpose.
You can deep link to it here:
Contact your Senator in opposition to S.2913 NOW
The House Judiciary Committee is considering H.R. 5889, the companion bill now. Please write them again:
Contact your Congressman in opposition to H.R. 5889 NOW
2 minutes is all it takes to write your senator and representatives and fight for your copyrights. Over 68,000 e-mail messages have been sent so far.
Don't Let Congress Orphan Your Work
Please forward this message to every artist you know.
If you received our mail as a forwarded message, and wish to be added to our mailing list, email us at: ipa@twcny.rr.com
Place "Add Name" in the subject line, and provide your name and the email address you want used in the message area.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
To have your name removed from this mailing list, send a reply email with "Remove Name" in the subject line. You will receive verification.
do it for other artists, even if you don't mind giving your own artwork away.....
Devious Comments
YOU SAID "For one, the bill has not passed as you state in your journal"
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I will agree with that Daniel, It was "approved" (not passed) on May 9, 2008 the House Judiciary subcommittee (Subcommittee on the Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property approved HR 5889) sorry for being vague.
The companion bill, S 2913, the Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008 is still in the Senate, introduced in the Senate last month by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. Not every day that such similar bills wind up in both the house & senate at the same time. Pro OW "Copyright Clearance Center" says they want to fast track the bill thru by summer due to the fall elections.
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YOU SAID There is also no mandatory registration in return for "protection"; while the bill may encourage proper filing with the United States Copyright Office it currently makes no such requirement.
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Thats only partly true. The use of searchable non-governmental databases of copyrighted works (if passed) will not mandatory. The only reason that it is NOT mandatory, is because of the Berne Convention, of which the US is a member wont allow it. (Berne/Article 5(2) The enjoyment and the exercise of these rights shall not be subject to any formality) If you dont participate in all the databases, then diligent in any database that you dont have your artwork on, the search will automatically render your artwork an orphan and available for use.
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YOU SAID You also seem slightly confused about how a work would be declared an orphan.
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I feel pretty confident about how that works, there are a lot of really smart people that are giving their takes on the bill and Ive read A LOT. Pro and Con. Here are some of the references that I have based by opinions on:
This is from a January 29 2007 exchange with the attorney (Harvard Law Grad, Mr. David O. Carson) from the Copyright Office and Mr. Brad Holland, board member of the Illustrators Partnership of America, self taught artist and writer) and opponent of OW, quoted from Mark Simons website :
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!
At the same time, you raise some important concerns
regarding the potential implications of orphan works
legislation on the photography and visual image
industries, including many of my constituents who are
photographers, illustrators, and graphic artists. It
is often exceedingly difficult to find the copyright
owner of a visual image, generally because the name of
the images creator is not on copies of the work
distributed to the public. Thus, there is a real
danger that the works of some of these artists might
be inaccurately labeled orphan works.
Email response written by Barack Obama to another artist since the approval of the OW bill.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------You are also incorrect in claiming that the bill does not provide for compensation or crediting. Currently the bill requires owners of orphan works to be paid reasonable compensation and it requires that anyone using an orphan work make as complete an attribution as possible under the circumstances and information available to them as well as being forced to label the work with a special symbol and</i. file notice of the use with the copyright office.
(from Mark Simons website)
Infringements can occur anytime anywhere in the world; therefore
- You would have to search every publication, every website, everywhere - on a regular basis - to see if anything youve ever done has been infringed.
- This would be an impossible task - but
- Even if you did find an infringement, youd still have to
- Locate the infringer and get him to respond; and
- While the infringer would only have to make a reasonably diligent search to find you,
-You would have to make an absolutely successful search to find him.
- Then, if you were able to track him down and get him to respond, youd have to
- Settle for whatever he was willing or able to pay you; or
- Take him to Federal Court; but remember
- If the court accepts the infringers claim that he made a reasonably diligent effort to find you,
- Youd get no more than what he was willing or able to pay you in the first place; but
-Youd be out-of-pocket for legal expenses; and
- Thered be no limit to the amount of damages and legal fees the infringer could get from you in a countersuit.
But the Copyright Office says that infringers who act in good faith need certainty that they wont be penalized for using an orphaned work:
Public knowledge (supporter of OW bill) their current recommendations are posted here [link]
If someone transforms the orphan , they wont be required to stop using it, even if the legitimate owner objects to the usage.
They quote the Copyright office as saying that the user should pay a reasonable compensation to the emerging owner. This reasonable compensation without any penalties. They would also not be required to pay any other monetary damages such as actual damages, statutory damages or attorneys fees
Public Knowledge also goes on to say they personally would like to see:
The user should be allowed to continue with the use of the work - and to continue the use that started prior to the discovery of the rightful owner. the user get to complete whatever work that had commenced before the owner emerged should be allowed to continue. They give the example of using illustrations for a book. The user gets to finish the work on the book that started prior to being discovered but having to get permissions for the reprints or other projects.
They mention multiple times that their goal is to take away the penalties that would discourage users from searching out orphan works. Given how little respect artist get with their property now under the current laws, it is bound to increase the unauthorized use of artwork, designs, photographs and dimensional arts/crafts.
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YOU SAID Lawmakers have also discussed the importance of making certain that 'for-profit' uses are denied certain portions of the safe harbor being proposed by the bill; they wish the primary beneficiaries to be non-profit uses by museums and other educational institutions and uses.
"you said" courtesy of:
Daniel (realitysquared)
Copyright & Etiquette Administration Director,
Community Development Division,
deviantART Inc.
Reply, Parent
in closing,
Thats one of the big problems that I see Daniel. Artists/photographers etc.will have even less control over who does use their artwork because who can afford to police the world? as it stands now, there is so much unauthorized use, most artists are shocked to find that their art has being stolen. If we remove the penalties that currently slow some of the theft down, we only increase the reward for stealing artwork.
No one except for the few that intend to profit from this bill could support it. And any way you look at, its people that want something for nothing.
I tend to put my faith in the professional artist that are against this bill.
Val0rie
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do something selfless today.
The bill would significantly limit remedies available to the copyright owner for infringement of copyrighted works when the infringer "proves by a preponderance of the evidence" that before infringing, it "performed and documented a qualifying search, in good faith, for the owner of the infringed copyright" and "was unable to locate the owner".
The bill provides that "an award for monetary relief (including actual damages, statutory damages, costs, and attorney's fees) may not be made other than an order requiring the infringer to pay reasonable compensation" to the copyright owner. (Parentheses in original.)
It would further limit monetary remedies where the infringer is a "nonprofit educational institution, library, or archives, or a public broadcasting entity".
The bills defines "reasonable compensation" as "the amount on which a willing buyer and willing seller in the positions of the infringer and the owner of the infringed copyright would have agreed with respect to the infringing use of the work immediately before the infringement began".
The bill also limits the availability of injunctive relief.
Copyrights in photographs, drawings, designs, and other non-textual works are not organized in searchable databases of the Copyright Office or any other entity. Hence, their owners are not subject to location. These creators would be substantially harmed by enactment of this bill into law. Although, HR 5889 is less harsh on creators than the bills considered in the 109th Congress.
The bill does nothing to limit the statutory remedies under the anti-circumvention provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA).
(Credits - author David Carney/[link])
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do something selfless today.
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Terry
bad news.
val
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do something selfless today.
are you keeping up with the Orphan works bill...its already passed...
I hope you're spreading the word.
val
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do something selfless today.
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-All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us- Gandalf
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Avvie by *0xo 's amazing skills. x3
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"That's EXTRACURRICULARIFIC!"
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Terry
Val
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do something selfless today.
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Terry
Oh, and don't worry about being forgetful. I have reached that age where I am liable to forget my own name!! LOL
You have a great holiday and keep in touch!
Val
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do something selfless today.
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Terry
I would love to see what you have to trade! My daughter keeps grabbing on the new ones for "her collection", so I need to work up some more!
Does the "aceo addict" ites make trades? or sell cards?
Val
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do something selfless today.
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Terry
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