Important for creative peoples -Orphan Works Legislation

[JohnnyCanuck]

It has been brewing for the last couple years, a legislation whereby artistic works could be declared Orphaned Works and used for free by pretty much anyone in the world. The end user would only have to submit thatthey did a diligent search for the copyright holder and were unable to locate them. The work is now Orphaned and that person would be granted legal use of said piece.
Sounds fair right?? In the US PRIVATE registration offices are already set up for you to register your works. Whereby you spend your money to register your copyrighted works and potential users can search for a work. Sounds some what reasonable. One registrar says their searches are 99% accurate. but think about that over a million searches . That's 10,000 screwed up searches. That's 10,000 people who paid for protection and have been orphaned because a searcher did their due diligence and searched for the copyright holder. 10,000 x $10 (just an estimated cost, probably low) $100,000 just lost by creative people. that's on the first million searches. Also if a searcher went to a different registrar than you did, your work is Orphaned. You can still attempt to sue at your expense and risk for pieces used but there is no way to guarantee that you will recoup any funds. A copyright lawyer here wants three hundred to start plus hourly costs of a sh**load.

Anyway I'm going off point a bit. Go to these links and read the articles thoroughly. Contact you congressman by letter, email, phone carrier pigeon if you have to. Let them know how dangerous this law is to creative peoples. If you are a creative person let them know how this law could destroy your livelihood. Can you afford to register every photo, sketch , painting, digital piece, rendering, you did in a year for a possible protection, at multiple registration houses?
I'm sorry I'm not really eloquent at these speaches but my point is valid. We all need to be proactive on this and start spreading the word. To everyone. Especially to people who rely on their art for a living. Everyone could be affected. Who here has posted pics on facebook,photobucket the artgallery on any site. those images are open game for theft. Do you want to see your kids face up on a billboard pimping McDonalds and haveno way to be compensated? While McDonalds rakes in all kinds of cash off your cute kids face sucking back a digitized shake?

Here's the links. Read the articles. Be angry. Be active. Call/contact your representative in government to stop these acts.

http://mag.awn.com/index.php?ltype=a...rticle_no=3605

http://www.illustratorspartnership.o...archterm=00185

and don't think you're safe there overseas! Your images are vulnerable and some of your governments are trying for the exact same legislation.

sorry for being political but this is important.

Shawn

[HappyCanuck]

This appears to be mainly US. Do you know if this will affect Canadian copyrights, Shawn?

[JohnnyCanuck]

When an American company steals your work and you have no where to turn to protect yourself yeah it will. Americans (meaning government/corporations) won't give a crap. They have money to stallyou in court long enough to put you in the poor house. Some of us are already halfway in the door of the poor house. Our gov't won't lift a finger against the Americans. It's up to every individual to protect themselves. That is why we all need to engage our Federal gov't in actingtowards stopping this.

[Puckeroo]

good thing am not a pro artist.
that be flying around all over deviantart.

[HappyCanuck]

I've received this warning from about seven different sourses on Deviant Art. And Shawn was only two of them!

[Legerd]

According to wiki this is how Canada is dealing with it:

Canada has created a supplemental licensing scheme that allows licenses for the use of published works to be issued by the Copyright Board of Canada on behalf of unlocatable copyright owners, after a prospective licensor has made "reasonable efforts to locate the owner of the copyright". As of September 2006 the Board had issued 189 such licenses.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orphan_works