I read over that list and it sounds like barely anything, if anything, is changing. It sounds another control freak artist trying to put a scary spin on this because Heaven forbid art be anything other than a means to get them and them alone fame and fortune.
An “orphan work” is “a copyright protected work for which rightsholders are positively indeterminate or uncontactable”. According to what I’m reading about this new law, under the current law “anyone using an orphan work runs the risk that the copyright owner may step forward and bring an infringement action for substantial damages, attorneys’ fees, and/or injuctive relief unless specific exception or limitation to copyright applies”. Even if you acted in “good faith” (i.e., made an attempt to contact the copyright holder), the copyright holder could just pop up years later and sue you if it’s not officially in the public domain yet.
Or, y’know, your YouTube video might get DMCA’d by a copyright patrol bot.
Because people can get sued/DMCA’d/C&D’d/etc. just for using a thing that’s been “orphaned”, orphan works are problematic. For example, take public libraries. There are all these old books, anyone can read them for free. But if someone owning an orphan work pops up and demands that their book not be available for free in libraries, then there’s complications.
The original post is full deliberate cherry-picking and convenient half-truths. The only people who really benefit from orphan works are corporations. Take a look at how video game companies are reselling old games on the digital market. If the Orphan Works Act had been passed years earlier, all those games might very well be subject to public domain. Of course, as SOPA and ACTA proved, everyone hates copyright laws when they clearly benefit Big Business, so corporations spread this idea that “artists” are the ones that lose out here. Tumblr’s full of gullible control freaks, so naturally they took the bait.
From Article I, Section 8, Clause 8 of the United States Constitution:
“To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.”
Copyright holders do not have absolute control over their works (all you fan artists would get C&D’d left and right if that were true) and they do not get to hold on to their copyright forever. The only thing the Orphan Works Act actually does is put a tighter restriction on how long you can abandon a work before it goes into the public domain.
I recommend everyone read this thing here about orphan works, specifically “Consquences of Orphan Works”.
Tag: United States
I have some issues with this:
1. All articles about this issue come from one source. And it isn’t in any way NYT, but “Journal of Biocommunication”. Whatever biology has to do with copyright for artists - I have no clue.
2. “The Next Great Copyright Act” is not a name of the bill, neither official or used by media. In fact, it’s a title of a lecture given by Register of Copyrights Maria A. Pallante. Not a bill, a lecture.
3. This text is full of emotionally charged vocabulary. Putting words like “privilege” or “pressure”, or making sweeping claims about a bill that doesn’t even exist doesn’t make it a viable source.
4. This works both ways. CGP Grey explained it well - remix is not an infringement. And change which would make any form of fair use banned will hurt people like you most. After all, if not laws we have we could be talking about Star Wars remakes made out of art that is in public domain, or: for all of us.
5. Unregistered work is orphaned anyway. Orphaned in this case means that one is unable to find copyright information regarding such piece.
6. This law can’t replace all copyright laws there are, because NO SUCH LAW EXISTS!
In fact, there is a site which has all the information about copyright law review: http://copyright.gov/laws/hearings/
All of that is at the moment a fear-mongering campaign to scare artists into a law which will hurt everyone: from old artists to new artists to public. Fair use, because that’s what apparently fuss is about, allows people to create stuff without worrying about being sued. And now apparently that is something bad.
And a tip: if you don’t want your art to be used in wrong ways, mark under which license the piece is.
ATTENTION ARTISTS
Copyright law is about to change
For more than a year Congress has been holding hearings for the drafting of a brand new US Copyright Act. At its heart is the return of Orphan Works
What does this mean for artists? it means it will make it easier for infringers to steal artists works and harder for people who are making or trying to make a living out of art more difficult. This will effect every artist and all the artwork they have created, are creating, and will be created. Corporates, Big businesses, and publishers want this to pass to make money out off artists works without paying us artists for past, current, and future artwork.
Basic Facts About The Law Being Proposed
- “The Next Great Copyright Act” would replace all existing copyright law.
- It would void our Constitutional right to the exclusive control of our work.
- It would “privilege” the public’s right to use our work.
- It would “pressure” you to register your work with commercial registries.
- It would “orphan” unregistered work.
- It would make orphaned work available for commercial infringement by “good faith” infringers.
- It would allow others to alter your work and copyright these “derivative works” in their own names.
- It would affect all visual art: drawings, paintings, sketches, photos, etc.; past, present and future; published and unpublished; domestic and foreign.** Ways to stop this or preventing these changes from happening**
> > > > > > > DEADLINE IS NEXT THURSDAY: JULY 23, 2015 < < < < < <
- share, reblog this post, spread it for other artists to take notice and action.
- You can submit a letter on how this law can be an issue for you as an artist here.
- Non-U.S. artists can email their letters to the attention of:
Catherine Rowland
Senior Advisor to the Register of Copyrights
U.S. Copyright Office
crowland@loc.govArticles about this - 1, 2, 3, 4
“Right now nobody has to understand copyright law because you’re protected by it, but under the law they are proposing, copyright law wont protect you anymore.”
- Brad Holland (Quote from the video - at 1:23:30)
seriously check this out, really needs to be stopped
I think this is sensationalized, but I’m reblogging this to encourage further investigation. Here’s the Copyright Office’s original report (“Orphan Works and Mass Digitization”).
Me and everyone else defending the grand jury decision is not about “supporting racism” or “supporting injustice” or, “supporting police brutality” its about me supporting the fact NONE OF US know the full story about what happened and we never will. And the fact the people (grand jury) that know a hell of a lot more info about it than us, chose to not indict Wilson. To disagree with the people who know way more about that night than you ever will to support your social justice bullshit is retarded. You dont fucking know what happened that night, I dont know what happened that night. So quit saying that a man “got away with senseless murder”. because you dont know. Im siding with the grand jury decision only because i know that they know alot more about it than me. in a few weeks 99% of us will forget about it and move on because its a mystery that will never be solved. Don’t claim to have the answer on that night based on someones ignorant tumblr rant.
I don’t think I fully agree with this, but it’s close enough. I’ll probably mull over it more tomorrow.
http://editorialcartoonists.com/cartoon/display.cfm/91794/
Not super-relevant to the previous chatter about voting, but I think it’s powerful nonetheless.
Yes. Congress getting anything done besides filling their pockets would be amazing. Too bad that will never happen
Unfortunately every time I have voted, I am getting fucked. I don’t believe in my own government anymore. No matter who complained voter or not, were all getting fucked.
If you vote but things still don’t go your way, fine. But I think not voting just leads to a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Yes. Congress getting anything done besides filling their pockets would be amazing. Too bad that will never happen
While there is a lot of appropriate rage about Ferguson right now, the killing of John Crawford, III is getting less attention than it deserves. I put Shaun King’s tweets and history lesson on the matter in chronological order for easier consumption.
Links:
Autopsy and video show John Crawford shot from behind in Wal-Mart
Witness in murder of John Crawford changes story
You really should be following Shaun King on Twitter.
My Funny Pictures #NewPost [1]
so very true
seriously what dafaq
As a person who lives in the south i have to agree with this 110%
Southern California:
Picture source. EDIT: The picture is actually from AccuWeather (article).