How Will the Orphan Works Bill Affect Ownership of Your Art and Written Work?
If a proposed law, H.R. 5889, The Orphan Works Bill of 2008 passes the U.S. House of Representatives or S. 2913, The Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008, passes the Senate, will your images, photos, artistic work and authored works be in danger of becoming public property? Apparently, the infringers just have to indicate they can’t find or couldn’t contact the owner and will have free use of much written and artistic work.
In a radical departure from existing copyright law and business practice, the U.S. Copyright Office has proposed that Congress grant such infringers freedom to ignore the rights of the author and use the work for any purpose, including commercial usage. In the case of visual art, the word “author” means “artist.” (From Overview at Illustrators Partnership of America)
The House Bill already has passed the House Judiciary Committee.
For more information on how this affects you, the artist, photographer, painter, designer…small and home business owner, visit the Illustrators Partnership of America web site.
Another source of explanation of “Orphan Works” and the consequences to authors and artists if one of these bills becomes law is at Public Knowledge.
“Orphan Works” are copyrighted works - books, music, records, films, etc - whose owner cannot be located. (From Public Knowledge)
(c)2008 Mary Emma Allen
Tags: copyright, copyright law, H.R. 5889, House Judiciary Committee, Illustrators Partnership of America, law, legislation, Orphan Works, Orphan Works Bill of 2008, quilters, quilts, S.2913, U.S. Copyright Office, U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. SenateRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Quilting / Patchwork Books and Magazines, Quilting/Patchwork Copyright, Quilting/Patchwork News
16 opinions for How Will the Orphan Works Bill Affect Ownership of Your Art and Written Work?
Peggy
May 13, 2008 at 12:38 am
Thanks for this post. I haven’t heard about this.
Mary Emma Allen
May 13, 2008 at 4:53 am
You’re very welcome, Peggy. Thanks for stopping by Quilting and Patchwork. This bill, at least in some variation, was defeated a couple of years ago, but has surfaced again for some reason. Artists and writers are very concerned about it. The sites I mentioned will give you more information.
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May 14, 2008 at 6:53 pm
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fraser
May 14, 2008 at 10:27 pm
This Bill is the Biggest “Land Grab” in the History of the world.
It makes the “Robber Barons” look like nursery school bullies.
Property is property, whether its physical or intellectual. And just because there is no name attached physically to the property dosn’t mean you can use it without permision.
If it’s out there somewhere, it’s being used, and it has value, and its possible (although not always easy to track down the owner if you want to use someone elses creation)…
If its not out there, its certainly not Googles right to exploit it for cash… thats the whole idea behind the Bern Convention.
To assume that MGM or Getty, or Google have the right to exploit any one and everyones creative works just because they want to is ridiculous…. would they also argue that just because there is a building that you like (that nice looking Googleplex for example) you should be able to move in and make a busines in it?
Or perhaps the millions of acres of “unused” Amazon Jungle should just be orphaned off to anyone who wants some wood?
Passing a Bill to allow the uncontrolled appropriation of Intellectual Property from the weak (individual producers) to the strong (corporations with lawyers) runs contrary to basic human rights, to the reaon we have laws in the first place, and to all established property laws.
The Orphan works Bill is a massive disgusting Land Grab.
Larry and Sergei and the Hollywood corporations sponsoring this Bill are Pirates.
And as we know, “Piracy is a Crime”
Eileen
May 16, 2008 at 5:41 am
Mary Emma, thanks for the heads-up and the links to letters we can send. This is very scary. Fraser says it far better than I could!!
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May 16, 2008 at 7:27 am
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Cyndi L
May 16, 2008 at 9:28 am
Fraser is so right! Anyone with deeper pockets than yours will be the winner every time.
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May 16, 2008 at 2:16 pm
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Katelyn Thomas
May 16, 2008 at 2:29 pm
Mary Emma,
I posted about this, too. I find it very upsetting and wrote in detail to all of my law makers. Senator Mikulski responded with a letter that was actually about the bill and thanked me for bringing the points I mentioned to her attention. The other two sent form letters thanking me for writing them about issue(s).
Mary Emma Allen
May 16, 2008 at 5:43 pm
Thanks for stopping by, Katelyn…and for posting on your blog about this bill, too. It’s one thing to be able to access works that are out of copyright, but there seems to be a loophole in this bill that could enable access to works that are in current copyright…simply by using the excuse the person or company that wants access couldn’t find or contact the owner.
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May 16, 2008 at 7:21 pm
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May 17, 2008 at 6:06 am
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May 17, 2008 at 10:11 am
[…] How Will the Orphan Works Bill Affect Ownership of Your Art & Written Work? Mary Emma at Quilting and Patchwork wonders what you think of the proposed Orphan Works Bill in the US Congress and how it will affect artists, writers, and artisans. […]
Valorie Wilson
May 17, 2008 at 4:41 pm
The bill is in both houses. The companies can see a way to make a profit from the public and from the artists - so many artists won’t even take the time to read about the bills and who’s behind them, we don’t stand much of a chance IMHO.
Public knowedge says they want anyone to be allowed to use my property (or yours) for nothing (or 200.00 cap) so as not to “DISCOURAGE” people from using whatever they find. That’s a really bad idea from where i sit - my art is MY property, just like my car or my home…maybe its time to lock up the web site and sell over seas where we still have some protection. This will end alot of creative ventures in the US, not encourage them.
Too bad the artists/photogs/designers don’t create our own registry and to heck with the whole greedy lot and up our prices to fund it.
I am sickened that our government will help facilitate this theft from our creative communities just we are too financially challenged to fight it. Shame on us all if it is allowed to happen.
Valorie
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May 19, 2008 at 3:57 pm
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