Orphaned Works Legislation

[sometimesusually]

I felt that this needed to be posted somewhere in the forums, simply because this hobby is so involved with photography. If this isn't allowed in this forum, please move it to where it best belongs or, worst come to worst, delete it. Though this currently only affects those in the US and, I believe, UK, it has more than enough potential to threaten the entire global creative community.

http://mag.awn.com/index.php?ltype=pageone&article_no=3605&page=1
(I know it's on an animation site, but please take the time to read it.)

This article is about the Orphaned Works legislation currently before Congress. If passed, it deems all unregistered work (most of what can be found on the internet) orphaned and, therefore, there for the taking. In short, the photos of your dolls, artwork of them, clothing for them, anything, has the potential to be taken from you and used in, say, a magazine ad campaign.

I, for one, would hate to see this hobby I've only just started to enjoy turned into some horribly underground thing or something, with little to no pictures of other people's dolls on the web to inspire me in all my creative endeavors. I'm sure there are some who don't believe it applies to them. Honestly, I probably wouldn't. But look at this:
"Photos on the internet could be orphaned. With tens of millions of photos shared online with services like Flickr, Shutterfly and Snapfish, there is a huge opportunity for unauthorized use of your photos... legally."

So please, read the article and, if you can, take some form of action. Post this in your journals and blogs, on deviantART, on Facebook, anywhere and everywhere it can be seen. Thank you.

(I've also posted this on DoA under the same name. Sorry to anyone seeing it twice!)

[FunnyLori]

This is very frustrating news!

I'm going to have to pull out my list of congressmen again and get to writing.

Are you on Zone of Zen? Would you mind if I shared this information there?

[sometimesusually]

No, but before you post, look at this: http://fongmingyun.deviantart.com/journal/17727838/ My friend Grace did some research (my power went out around 1am and hindered me doing further research) and found some information from the actual bill, which sounded closer to things I'd heard about it in the past and, well, more sane. That article is supremely biased (I suppose, though, it was his interpretation as an animator fearing registering every frame more than anything) and, well, Grace's is more cold and logical. If anything, link to her rather than the article.

Also, I've made a journal entry on DA which links to anything I've found that's relevant here: http://sometimesusually.deviantart.com/journal/17802149/

[clea]

Thanks for the link, sometimesusually. i looked at this thread last night and was too tired to post coherently about the numerous problems and misrepresentations with the Mark Simon piece. Then i found this post which really pulls together the facts and busts a few myths.

http://maradydd.livejournal.com/374886.html

[zalem]

Meh, they've been trying to pass an Orphaned Works Act for several years now and it hasn't passed. I wouldn't worry about it. Most photographers are against it, but this article makes it out to be far worse then it really is.

[chai_fiend]

Meh, they've been trying to pass an Orphaned Works Act for several years now and it hasn't passed. I wouldn't worry about it. Most photographers are against it, but this article makes it out to be far worse then it really is.

though it hasn't passed yet, as an artist, i think this still deserves some concern. i'm not the most politically active person in the world, but my boyfriend is and i get to see the inane, crazy laws that make it to legislation, and sometimes, unfortunately, get passed. the law passing is not entirely out of the question.

[sometimesusually]

The threat of a bill possibly passing remains, but I don't think it ever will. Every time it has been brought before Congress, it's been shot down and the sheer amount of public outcry over the weekend was immense. I doubt, so long as the hearings and everything are visible enough that anything will come to pass.

[Crou]

Thanks for the info.

[Agnes]

http://maradydd.livejournal.com/374886.html

Another good write-up. That one article linked by the OP has been blown way out of proportion. It's only one (severely biased and misinformed) source, but there's been a full-blown panic over it all over the net.