Orphan Works Bill

If you want to retain the rights to your art, start keeping an eye on politics and watch out for a new Orphan Works Bill being put before Congress. *Starrpoint sent me a link to this article on orphan works legislation, and I urge you to read it, do your own searches on it, and find out what it means to you in practical terms . In short, an orphan works bill means that any work you create does not belong to you unless you register it. While I understand some of the 'good intentions' surrounding this issue - facilitating the use of images for creative purposes such as collage is one - the less noble intentions are many. There are individuals and corporations who stand to make enormous amounts of money from exploiting this bill.

What can you do? First, bookmark The Orphan Works Resource Page where they seem to have the latest news, and watch out for new information. As far as I understand it, the last attempt at passing such a bill was defeated, but they are expecting another one to be put forward very soon. Second, find out the contact information for your local representatives, and draft a letter, ready to mail at once when the bill is proposed. Apparently, such letters are only useful once the bill is actually before the senate. The About.com guide to US Politics, Kathy Gill, has a helpful article on How to Contact Your U.S. Congressman and Senators. Readers in Europe are advised to keep an eye out for issues of intellectual property and copyright in national politics and the European Union.

Find out more about the orphan works legislation:
ASMP Info page
Illustrators Partnership page
Animation World article
Judiciary Website: Hearing on Use of Orphan Works