 Guild
Advocacy
Working to raise industry standards, and improve the ability of visual creators to achieve satisfying
and rewarding careers.
The Orphan Works Bill
Revisited in 2008
The Orphan Works Act of 2008" has been released in both House and Senate Judiciary Committees. Below are links to the actual drafts of the two versions of the bill:
In answer to your questions regarding Orphan Works and the Guild's current position on the bills:
Orphan Works is a very important issue to Guild members. It has been our top advocacy priority for the past two years. The Guild opposed the first Orphan Works bill, and, because we knew it would come back, we were ready with our lobbyist and other creators' organizations to suggest changes to eliminate the harm posed to artists and their intellectual property. Some, but not all of our changes have been incorporated.
As you know, bills in Congress are amended many times as they move through the process, and since we're still pushing for further improvements, it would be unwise for us to take a position on either bill at this time, or ask artists to write letters. Rest assured, we are monitoring the bills very closely.
There's a lot of information and ideas swirling around the internet about Orphan Works and we can't prevent that. We urge you to continue to educate yourself on the issues involved. And note the Guild's advocacy committee is open to any interested members who wish to volunteer and learn.
Some of the feedback we received from concerned members is about the "private registries" issue and the need to "re-register" their works with them. Neither the House nor the Senate drafts of the bill contain the word “registries,” but rather they require users to search non-governmental databases of copyrighted works. The purpose of any database is not meant to take the place of copyright registration, but to have a way to search for visual images. Any participation in such a database would be voluntary.
Right now, the Copyright Office does not have the capability to search for images on their web site and they have indicated that would not change in the near future.
It remains to be seen how these non-governmental databases would develop if the House version of the bill actually passes. It's also premature to suggest that there will be a cost to the content provider for uploading any images to such a database. It should be noted that some organizations are already experimenting with ways to help search for owners of images, such as the Picture Archive Council of America and the Copyright Clearance Center.
We're working on getting more information to you over the next couple of days. In the meantime, in order to clarify some of the differences in the current bills from earlier proposals for Orphan Works, we've attached a comparison chart of the 2008 House version of the bill with the original Orphan Works proposal, courtesy of the ASMP.
Point by Point: The Original Proposal vs. H.R. 5889 (Click Here to View)
Orphan Works - Background Information
To learn more click here.
YOUR RIGHT TO UNIONIZE
The Senate voted on H.R. S.1041 - "The Employee Free
Choice Act" - on June 26th.The Bill failed to pass by
nine votes, all Repulican.
Click here
for details…
ALERT
Perpituity Contracts - DO NOT SIGN contracts
granting Simon and Schuster all rights in perpituity until you... Click
here for more info.
Copyright Protection for Fashion Designers - S. 1957
S. 1957, theDesign Piracy Prohibition Act [including Protection For Fashion Design], was introduced in the Senate on August 8, 2007. The bill proposes to protect the copyright of fashion designs for 3 years.
Click for more information
Artists Tax Deduction for Donated Artwork Under Consideration
The Artist-Museum Partnership Act
Reintroduced in Congress
Show Congress Your Support! Click
here for details
Photographer Tom Dallal wins Infringement Lawsuit Against NY Times
Read about it here.
Google, Yahoo and Microsoft
Scan Library Books -- a blatant breach of International copyright
law
In December 2004 Google entered into
an agreement with 5 libraries to digitally scan library books
and make them searchable online. Google has set up scanning centers
to facilitate this.
The libraries are not seeking permission from
authors or publishers to scan the books and make them available in digital format.
The "Google Print Library Project" is
a blatant breach of international copyright law. Read
the full story here.
Read the Statement of Objection to The Google
Print Library Project by the International Federation of Reprographic
Rights Organizations [IFRRO]. Click
here for the pdf.
IFRRO
The International Federation of Reprographic Rights Organizations
[IFRRO] statement and recommendation regarding digitization
of copyrighted works in libraries: Submission on Consultation Paper "i2010
Digital Libraries" 18
January 2006. Click
here for the pdf.
.
Copyright Registration and Date Certification Services -- What's the Scoop?
A number of copyright registration "services"
and creation "date certification services" have
sprung up around the US and online, seeking to make money off of
artists,
photographers and writers. Click
here to download the pdf.
RRO Info
White Paper on Collective Rights Management,
by Lisa Shaftel Click
here to download the pdf.
"International Legislation" This
Presentation is based on the joint IFRRO
WIPO Publication on Collective Management in Reprography written by Tarja Koskinen-Olsson, April 2005
www.ifrro.org/show.aspx?pageid=copyright/intro&culture=en
"Foreign Reprographic Royalties" by
Jonathan Combs, Guild National President, 1998-2000. Click
here to download the pdf.
Don't 'ch wanna be in on this stuff?! The Graphic Artists Guild Advocacy Committee wants you! If you're a Guild member,
drop our Advocacy Chair, Lisa Shaftel an email and let her know that your interested. Feel free to bring something to the table. 
white paper (n.)
is any official paper or report, often the result of an inquiry or a policy study, issued by a government or another organization
or agency. It's a Standard term. |
