Category Archives: Copyright

Today is the Last Day to Write – Here is My Letter

Diane Clancy Art Blog Posted on by

Sorry for the short notice, but you can write until TODAY  – and I hope YOU will!! At last the government WANTS to hear from actual artists instead of only big businesses.  Some businesses want to use our work without our permission (or payment) – this has been called the Orphan Works Bill.  I know I want to protect my colorful, vibrant paintings!!  Please read yesterday’s post for details.  My letter is below just as an example.  Thank you! ~ Diane

Summary of issue: Over 85 organizations opposed the last Orphan Works bills, representing over half a million creators. Illustrators, photographers, fine artists, songwriters, musicians, and countless licensing firms all believe this bill will harm their small businesses.

WRITE TODAY – details in yesterday’s post – my letter below!

My name is Diane Clancy from Greenfield, MA.  I create vibrant paintings that feature color and vision to inspire and uplift people.  I work both in traditional mediums and digital mediums.  I also do graphic design and web design.

I sell originals of my work.  But I also use my images (paintings) for prints and on merchandise. I have several online shops where people can purchase my work – both from me directly and through shops that do the printing themselves and send the merchandise and prints directly to my customers and collectors.

On some images I spend well over 100 hours to produce the original painting.  To make a profit in my art business, I need to be able to use and reuse such an image over and over again to make my art business profitable.  That is partly why I sell prints of these paintings and also sell these images on items such as mugs, tiles, journals, calendars and tote bags.  This is how I make my money from such a painting.

As a commercial artist, I have a business plan and much of it is based on reuse of my paintings – by ME!  If other businesses are able to use my images, saying that they are orphaned, I have lost much of my business and income.  My paintings, my images ARE my business.  I have spent much time and effort in creating them and marketing them.  I need to be the one who gets the benefit of my intellectual property rights.

I want the government to protect my copyrights of my paintings … and to not make it easier for others to call my images orphaned and then make money from these paintings.  I am an American micro-business, an entrepreneur – the backbone of the American economy.  I need the US government to be protecting and encouraging, small creative businesses …  I also think this is what is going to help turn around this economy.

Also, I am an artist living with a disability. Having this small art business is what allowed me to move off disability to be supporting myself. Please help me support myself.  I know of many artists with micro-businesses who are living with disabilities.  Creating and marketing our art is what allows many of us to minimize financial support from the government.  To me, clearly, it is evident that is good for the economy.

Thank you for asking artists for our input!  I am greatly appreciative that you want to hear from us,
~ Diane Clancy

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The Government WANTS to Hear from Artists!!

Diane Clancy Art Blog Posted on by

Sorry for the short notice, but you can write until March 24  – and I hope YOU will!! At last the government WANTS to hear from actual artists instead of only big businesses.  This is again about copyright issues. Some businesses want to use our work without our permission (or payment) – this has been called the Orphan Works Bill.

Most of us artists want to protect our copyrights to make sure that we can protect our work.  I know I want to protect my colorful, vibrant paintings!!  Brad Holland and Cynthia Turner for the Board of the Illustrators’ Partnership has put together this information.  Mark Simon is an Artist Adovcate and he passed along this information also.  Thank you to them!  Please read below for details.  Thank you! ~ Diane

Summary of issue: Over 85 organizations opposed the last Orphan Works bills, representing over half a million creators. Illustrators, photographers, fine artists, songwriters, musicians, and countless licensing firms all believe this bill will harm their small businesses.

WRITE TODAY – details below!

Hello fellow artists,
Below is great info on a White House initiative to find out more about copyright protection for artists and small businesses.

The deadline to hear from artists is <WED MARCH 24>, SO DON’T DELAY. Email them now. Info is below.

Artist Advocate,
Mark Simon

FROM THE ILLUSTRATORS’ PARTNERSHIP

White House Seeks Artists’ Comments to Improve Copyright Protection

3.18.10

New Copyright Czar begins Joint Strategic Plan to Protect Intellectual Property
Victoria Espinel is the first U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC), also known as the Copyright Czar. Congress created IPEC by an Act of Congress. Ms. Espinel serves within theExecutive Office of the President to coordinate with all the federal agencies that fight the infringement of intellectual property.

Ms. Espinel and her team are specifically tasked with formulating and implementing a Joint Strategic Plan to help protect the ingenuity and creativity of Americans by improving the U.S. Government’s protection of the rights of intellectual property owners.

Your input is requested.
The White House is inviting your public input and participation to shape an effective intellectual property enforcement strategy. Please respond with your written submissions regarding the costs to you, your business and the U.S. economy resulting from infringement of your intellectual property rights, both direct and indirect.

This will be a 2-part process.
The first is to gather public recommendations by March 24. IPEC will then gather your input on the formulated plan.

Please be precise.
Include your name, city, state, and what type of artist you are. Explain why copyright is critical to you as a commercial artist, how infringement affects you, and what the U.S. government can do to better protect the rights of American artists. If your submission is about your economic loss due to infringement of your copyrights you must clearly identify the methodology used to calculate your losses or otherwise validate your infringement and enforcement costs.

Your submission will be publicly posted.
For this reason, please do not include in your comments information of a confidential nature, such as sensitive personal information or proprietary information.

Confidential disclosures.
If you have confidential business information that would support your recommendation or that you believe would help the Government formulate an effective enforcement strategy, please let them know by contacting:

Thomas L. Stoll
Office of the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator
(202) 395-1808

Deadline: Submissions must be received by Wednesday, March 24, 2010, at 5 p.m. EST.
Address: All submissions should be sent electronically via intellectualproperty@omb.eop.gov

Additional Background Reading:
White House Blog
Federal Register Notice Request

- Brad Holland and Cynthia Turner for the Board of the Illustrators’ Partnership

______________________________________________________________

For news and information, and an archive of these messages:
Illustrators’ Partnership Orphan Works Blog: http://ipaorphanworks.blogspot.com/

Over 85 organizations opposed the last Orphan Works bills, representing over half a million creators. Illustrators, photographers, fine artists, songwriters, musicians, and countless licensing firms all believe this bill will harm their small businesses.

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Orphan Bill Passed the Senate – Try to Stop it in the House

Diane Clancy Art Blog Posted on by

FROM THE ILLUSTRATORS’ PARTNERSHIP

Orphan Works Opposition: Plan B

SEPT 27  Yesterday, in a cynical move, the sponsors of the Senate Orphan Works Act passed their controversial bill by a controversial practice known as hotlining.

With lawmakers scrambling to raise 700 billion dollars to bail out businesses that are “too big to fail,” the Senate passed a bill that would force small copyright holders to subsidize big internet interests such as Google, which has already said it plans to use millions of the images this bill will orphan.

Healing Heart

Healing Heart, Digital © Diane Clancy

IWith the meltdown on Wall Street, this is no time for Congress to concentrate our nation’s copyright wealth in the hands of a few privately owned corporate databases. The contents of these databases would be more valuable than secure banking information. Yet this bill would compel creators to risk their own intellectual property to supply content to these corporate business models. That means it would be our assets at risk in the event of their failure or mismanagement.

As David Rhodes, President of the School of Visual Arts has said, the Orphan Works bill would socialize the expense of copyright protection while privatizing the profit of creative endeavors. Copyright owners neither want nor need this legislation. It will do great harm to small businesses. We already have a banking crisis. Congress should not lay the groundwork for a copyright crisis.

–Brad Holland and Cynthia Turner, for the Illustrators’ Partnership

NOW FOR PLAN B

We MUST try to stop the House Judiciary Committee from folding their bill (HR5889) and adopting the Senate version.

PLEASE EMAIL CONGRESS TODAY.

If you’ve done it before, do it again!

It takes only a minute to use our new special letter.
Click on the link below, enter your zip code, and take the next steps.
Thanks to all of  you who heeded the call to action yesterday.

http://capwiz.com/illustratorspartnership/issues/alert/?alertid=11980321

_______________________________________________________________

For ongoing developments, go to the Illustrators’ Partnership Orphan Works blog: http://ipaorphanworks.blogspot.com/

Over 70 organizations oppose this bill, representing over half a million creators. Illustrators, photographers, fine artists, songwriters, musicians, and countless licensing firms all believe this bill will harm their small businesses.

The Capwiz site is open to professional creators and any member of the image-making public.  International artists will find a special link, with a sample letter and instructions as to whom to write.

If you received our mail as a forwarded message, and wish to be added to our mailing list, email us at: illustratorspartnership@cnymail.com Place “Add Name” in the subject line, and provide your name and the email address you want used in the message area.

Please post or forward this email to any interested party.

Back to Diane: I am going to be away for several days – for longer than I have been away from home for over 11 1/2 years … so I am pretty excited. I am hoping to get some real healing … but certainly rest.  I decided to not post ahead … that perhaps absence will make your heart grow fonder …  I so much appreciate my online friends … you mean a LOT to me and I take you in my heart.

~ Diane Clancy

Orphan Works Bill Put on Hold!!!

Diane Clancy Art Blog Posted on by

There is a breather about the Orphan Works Bill but we may not be out of the woods yet – read the details below! We need to stay alert because “hotlining” has been used to pass bills without public input on short notice.

I have a give-away to celebrate my 500th post. You can still enter to win!! Here are the details. It is FREE to enter! Thank you for stopping by!  There are some of my regular readers who are away and I want to give them a chance to enter.

Lush Flora

Lush Flora, Digital © Diane Clancy

FROM THE ILLUSTRATORS’ PARTNERSHIP
Senate Orphan Works Bill Put “on Hold”

We’ve just received word that the Senate bill has been put “on hold.” In fact, there appear to be multiple holds on it. Senators who “hold” hotlined bills do not have to identify themselves nor give their reasons for holding it. Holds are temporary. We don’t know how many of you contacted your Senators on such short notice this afternoon, but many, many thanks to all of you who responded so rapidly.

Most people are unaware of the process called hotlining. In the past it was used to pass non-controversial legislation, but increasingly, it’s being used to pass bills whose sponsors don’t want to see debate. An excellent article in Roll Call explains the process. Here’s an excerpt:

Senate conservatives are upset that the leaders of both parties in the chamber have in recent years increasingly used a practice known as “hotlining” bills – previously used to quickly move noncontroversial bills or simple procedural motions – to pass complex and often costly legislation, in some cases with little or no public debate. The increase was particularly noticeable just before the August recess, when leaders hotlined more than 150 bills, totaling millions of dollars in new spending, in a period of less than a week.

The practice has led to complaints from Members and watchdog groups alike that lawmakers are essentially signing off on legislation neither they nor their staff have ever read…

In order for a bill to be hotlined, the Senate Majority Leader and Minority Leader must agree to pass it by unanimous consent, without a roll-call vote. The two leaders then inform Members of this agreement using special hotlines installed in each office and give Members a specified amount of time to object – in some cases as little as 15 minutes. If no objection is registered, the bill is passed.

– From ‘Hotlined’ Bills Spark Concern
By John Stanton, Roll Call Staff
September 17, 2007
To read the full article, go to: http://tinyurl.com/3p8x2u (link isn’t working correctly in their announcement)

This is the second time the Senate Orphan Works bill has been hotlined this summer. The previous hotline came on June 5, the same week artists descended on Washington to urge lawmakers to oppose this controversial bill. The bill was put on hold that time too.

Since bills can be hotlined without prior notice, we’ll all have to stay vigilant throughout the rest of this legislative session. Thanks again to all of you who responded so quickly.

Over 60 organizations, representing more than 250,000 creators, are united in opposing these bills in their current form. Illustrators, photographers, fine artists, songwriters, musicians, and countless licensing firms all believe this bill will harm their small businesses.

Read the list:

http://www.illustratorspartnership.org/01_topics

~ Diane Clancy

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Request for Whirling Dervish Umbrellas

Diane Clancy Art Blog Posted on by

I received a very interesting email the other day. There is a group in Seattle that provides medical care for children – and they want to use my image for the invitation!! It was very exciting to be asked!! Her board all LOVE this digital painting!! How exciting to me that someone 3,000 miles away loves my work and wants to use it!!  She was searching (I guess in Goggle images) and this came up.  I will have more to show you later – a pdf – and a website to link to.  I am delighted!!

Whirling Dervish Umbrellas

Whirling Dervish Umbrellas, Digital © Diane Clancy

I am back after being away for a few days and actually catching up on about 10 little joby things … some paid and some not (this job for the children’s expenses).

~ Diane Clancy

Orphan Works Postponed

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From the Illustrators’Partnership:

The Orphan Works Mark-up for this week has been postponed. This gives us more time to email and fax members of the House Judiciary Committee. Write and ask them to support the amendments submitted jointly by the Illustrators’ Partnership, the Artists Rights Society and the Advertising Photographers of America.

http://ipaorphanworks.blogspot.com/2008/07/hr-5889-amendments.html

Pink Promenade

Pink Promenade, Digital © Diane Clancy

These amendments would:

Insure that the bill will only affect true orphaned work;
Insure that the bill will not violate international trade agreements;
Insure that the bill will not take effect until a market impact survey concludes it will not harm existing commercial markets.

Otherwise, ask them not to vote this bill out of committee until Congress can hold proper hearings into the harm it will do to small businesses, individual creators and ordinary citizens.

Our sample letter to House Judiciary Committee members can be deep linked here: http://capwiz.com/illustratorspartnership/issues/alert/?alertid=11618481

Contact information for House Judiciary Committee members can be accessed here: http://ipaorphanworks.blogspot.com/2008/07/house-judiciary-committee-contact-list.html

For Orphan Works Updates use our new Orphan Works blog: http://ipaorphanworks.blogspot.com/

View the Orphan Works Forum Webcast from the Society of Illustrators:
http://www.unitedpgremote.com/society/soi_2008_05_04.html

Don’t Let Congress Orphan Your Work
Write Congress and fight for your copyrights

If you received our mail as a forwarded message, and wish to be added to our mailing list, email us at: illustratorspartnership@cnymail.com Place “Add Name” in the subject line, and provide your name and the email address you want used in the message area.

Devious Orphan Works Act

Diane Clancy Art Blog Posted on by

It is very disturbing to read the below info – it certainly suggests that those who are pushing this bill clearly understand that according to international law (that the US has agreed to), that what they are doing is illegal and wrong. This shows more of a devious attitude than I has expected – I thought they went overboard without understanding what they were doing. Please read and act!!

In the Zone

In the Zone, Digital © Diane Clancy

FROM THE ILLUSTRATORS’ PARTNERSHIP

Backers of the Orphan Works bill are circulating their Talking Points:

“Neither the House nor the Senate drafts of the bill contain the word “registries,” [they write] 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.”

But this doesn’t mean what it appears to say. Take it point by point:

Talking Point #1: “Neither the House nor the Senate drafts of the bill contain the word `registries.’ ”
Response: Correct. They contain the word “databases,” a synonym:

Registry: register: an official written record of names or events or
transactions
http://wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

Database: A database is a structured collection of records or data
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Database

Q: Why a synonym?
A: Because international copyright law forbids member countries to impose registries as a condition of protecting copyrights: Berne/Article 5(2) “The enjoyment and the exercise of these rights shall not be subject to any formality.”
http://www.law.cornell.edu/treaties/berne/5.html

In other words, if they used the word “registries” in the bills, it would be a red flag to other countries that the US is flirting with non-compliance with international treaties.

Talking Point #2: “…rather they [the bills] require users to search non-governmental databases of copyrighted works.”
Response: Non-governmental databases” means databases maintained in the private sector.
For users to find your work in these commercial databases, your work would first have to be in the database. Work not in the database would be orphaned.

Talking Point #3: “Any participation in such a database would be voluntary.”
Response: Congress cannot pass a bill making registration mandatory because that would violate Berne/Article 5(2).
And that would state explicitly to other countries that the US no longer intends to honor its international agreements.
There are red flags all over these talking points.

Summing up: The Orphan Work bills would mandate the creation of
registries by commercial interests. You would not be legally forced to place your work with these for-profit registries. But failure to do so would orphan your work.

The deceptive talking points accompanying this bill are another red flag.

Ëœ Brad Holland and Cynthia Turner, for the Board of the Illustrators’ Partnership

Take Action/ Write Congress
http://capwiz.com/illustratorspartnership/home/

Over 37,000 messages have been sent from the site in the last 48 hours. Please spread the word.

Please forward or post this announcement in its entirety to any interested party.

If you received our mail as a forwarded message, and wish to be added to our mailing list, email us at: illustratorspartnership@cnymail.com
Place “Add Name” in the subject line, and provide your name and the email address you want used in the message area.

~ Diane Clancy

Million Signatures – Yours Counts!! (ALL Countries)

Diane Clancy Art Blog Posted on by

Everyone can sign – please do!! And for those in Nashville .. who knows – there many be dozens of readers there – <g> …  there is a big meeting there today about this bill!! Today a couple of people are coming over to have a cookout for my birthday … HAPPY SOLSTICE!!  I got paid for the work I did in January!! And another of my former shops closed.

Pink Portico

Pink Portico, Digital © Diane Clancy

FROM THE ILLUSTRATORS’ PARTNERSHIP

A Million People Against the Orphan Works Bill

http://www.petitiononline.com/Stop2913/petition.html

We support this petition. We urge you to sign it. Please forward the link and urge others to sign.

You can help increase the power of the petition by signing your real name and listing your artistic specialties.

If you are not a US citizen, we suggest that you note your country, and state if it is a member of the Berne Convention.

This petition is sponsored by A Million People Against the Orphan Works Bill, a new grassroots group founded by multimedia journalist Steve Lehman on Facebook and Flickr. All people are welcome to participate; it is not exclusive to these websites.

In 1987, Lehman broke the story of Tibetan unrest, later profiled in his award winning book “The Tibetans Struggle to Survive.” As a visual artist intimately acquainted with the power of free speech, the protection afforded by the right to privacy, and the critical need for independent voices, Lehman, like the rest of us, is deeply troubled by any national policy that affects artists’ control over their works. 

Please forward this message to every artist you know. 

For additional information about Orphan Works developments, go to the IPA Orphan Works Resource Page for Artists at:  http://www.illustratorspartnership.org/01_topics/article.php?searchterm=00185

Nashville Town Hall Meeting to Discuss controversial ‘Orphan Works’ legislation.”

Saturday June 21 2:00 PM 

At Sunset Grill

2001 Belcourt Ave

Nashville, TN 37212

(615) 386-3663

Admission Free/Open to Public

Congressman Jim Cooper and Congressman John Hall will hold a “Town Hall Meeting” with Nashville’s entertainment community this Saturday to discuss music-industry issues such as the controversial “Orphan Works” bill. The event is free and open to the public.

We hope all artists, cartoonists, photographers, art educators and others in the Nashville area will attend to express their opposition to this radical change to copyright law. It’s important to let lawmakers know that this bill will affect all forms of art, damage small businesses and open the door to cultural theft on an unprecedented scale. Please contact others in the Nashville area. Urge them to attend and urge them all to speak out.

Congressman Cooper represents the district that contains most of Nashville’s music business. He is a 2006 graduate of the Leadership Music program. 

Congressman Hall is the only professional musician in Congress. Formerly a Nashville resident, he is a first-term congressman representing District 19 in upstate New York. Hall founded Orleans and Co-wrote its classics “Still the One” and “Dance with Me.” His songwriting hits in Music City included “Juliet” (The Oak Ridge Boys), “You Can Dream of Me” (Steve Wariner), “Reach” (New Grass Revival), and “New Star Shining” (Ricky Skaggs). His songs have also been recorded by Bonnie Raitt, Chet Atkins, Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor and Janis Joplin, among others.

 ~ Diane Clancy

Musicians are Supporting Visual Artists Around Orphan Works Act

Diane Clancy Art Blog Posted on by

Independent musicians are now supporting the Visual Artists with the Orphan Works Act given the way it is written right now.  The original intent has pretty much gotten lost .. and big business interests have taken over (my interpretation). There is a lot more information in the posts for the last 2 days. Here is one of my original ACEOs I made … I need to get back to making some more in traditional mediums beside digital.

Lace and Flowers - ACEO

Lace and Flowers – ACEO © Diane Clancy

~ Diane Clancy

FROM THE ILLUSTRATORS’ PARTNERSHIP

Visual Artists Go to Washington, Independent Record Labels Oppose
Orphan Works Act

Last week over two dozen visual artists, representing illustrators,
photographers, fine artists and the arts licensing trades went to
Capital Hill to explain to legislators how the Orphan Works Act
will harm creators and the hundreds of thousands of art-related
small businesses that serve and are dependent on them. At the same
time, independent music labels have joined the opposition to orphan
works legislation as it currently exists.

The Illustrators’ Partnership has stressed that Orphan Works
legislation should be limited to true orphaned work and not act as
an unwarranted compulsory license imposed on commercial markets.
IPA, the Advertising Photographers of America and the Artists
Rights Society have joined to offer amendments to that effect.

Excerpted from the Washington Internet Daily/Monday June 09, 2008:

The visual-arts community hit the Hill last week to protest what it
portrays as a hijacking of the orphan-works issue as it was
presented in a 2005 Copyright Office report…

The Copyright Office ran a bait-and-switch from its 2005 notice of
intent, which focused on facilitating libraries’, museums’ and
other nonprofits’ efforts to digitize collections to improve access
to them, [Illustrators’ Partnership co-founder Brad] Holland said.
Artists want the issue narrowed back to that focus, scrapping
commercial use, he said…Copyright Office roundtables on orphan
works never addressed alternates to registries, an “untested,
untried, unaccountable market system” favoring Google, Getty,
Corbis and other commercial aggregators, Holland said. [Cynthia]
Turner [also of the Partnership] said artists would incur high
costs registering works, and they hesitate to hand over high-res,
commercial versions to Google or others.

In the same article, Washington Internet Daily also reports that
the leading group of independent music labels has broken with the
corporate music trade associations. The American Association of
Independent Music has published a position paper opposing the
current orphan works bills. The article quotes a music industry
executive: “I can tell you that nobody in the music business”
sought the bill.

… the executive said the bill is “de facto… establishing a new
compulsory license” by putting unregistered artists at a legal
disadvantage in court. The law can’t explicitly require
registration or it will violate the Berne Convention, TRIPS and
other treaties the U.S. has signed, the executive said. Book
publishers and music executives in the U.K. think the U.S. will be
in trouble, the executive said, citing a recent visit: “I can tell
you there are European commissioners that are looking at this right
now.”

-Excerpts from “Orphan-Works Bills Scorned by Visual Arts, Indie
Labels” by Greg Piper, Washington Internet Daily June 09, 2008

Also see
http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/27803/visual-artists-and-indie-rec
ord-labels-voice-concern-over-orphan-works-bills/

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Mark Simon’s Article – Orphan Works

Diane Clancy Art Blog Posted on by

 Mark Simon wrote this article about the Orphan Works Act and said it could be posted in its entirety other places.  It is published somewhere on www.AWN.com. There is more information in yesterday’s post and there will be still more tomorrow … and these three pieces are what I have new for now.

Purple Entrance

Purple Entrance, Digital © Diane Clancy

~ Diane Clancy

 
Does Congress Care About Your Creations?
Mark Simon
Artist Advocate

Mark Simon keeps trying to chip away at the Orphan Works Act.

When I found out about the Orphan Works Act I was astounded that
anyone in Congress would consider legislation that could so
obviously be used against artists and their original creations.

I started helping the Illustrator’s Partnership in getting artists
to write letters to Congress asking Senators and Representatives to
oppose the bill. (You have written a few yourself right? Every
voice counts!) So far artists have sent over 99,000 letters
opposing the bill through the system the Illustrator’s Partnership
set up (http://capwiz.com/illustratorspartnership/home/ ). That
doesn’t even count all the letters sent and calls made to
Representatives and Senator’s directly.

Your voices are being heard!

At least they are being heard by some people on the Hill. However,
I’m not quite sure what some of our Congressmen are listening to.
When artist Marty Kleva called the office of his Representative Tom
Udall, NM, Kleva was told “This is a very popular bill.”

Really? Popular? Have you seen the outrage in the online artist
communities? Has Udall read any of the tens of thousands of letters
sent to Congress opposing this bill?

Congressman Steve Kagen stated in his response to Kathy Glasnap,
“This bill has come under considerable scrutiny and criticism from
people in the arts community”. This statement completely
contradicts that of Udall. At least Kagen is listening.

As you may imagine I have gotten a huge amount of e-mails regarding
this issue. By far, most artists understand the problems inherent
in this legislation and they oppose the bill. Your letters are
working and legislators are starting to listen.

At the end of May I asked a number of artists on my Orphan Works
E-Mail List to forward the responses they have received from their
Representatives and Senators regarding Orphan Works. I got copied
on over 60 responses from Congress which show a combination of
support for the Bill, opposition to the Bill and a complete lack of
understanding of the issue.

Let’s talk about specifics in these responses from our government
officials who are supposed to be supporting our best interests.

Some members of Congress do support our position that the Orphan
Works Act is bad for the creative community. I have seen letters of
support from the following Congressmen. Let’s give them their fair
due and please let them know that you appreciate their continued
support in opposing the bill.

* Ron Paul (extremely strong opposition to the Orphan Works Act)
* Sam Farr
* John Olver
* Diane Feinstein
* Tom Feeney
* Diane DeGette
* Barbara Mikulski

Florida Representative Tom Feeney, and co-chairman of the
Intellectual Property Caucus, says about the bill, “I do have
several concerns. This bill provides for a potential haven for
those who are seeking to use copyrighted works but are unwilling to
undertake a thorough search for the copyright owners.” This is also
one of my main concerns and I’m glad Feeney agrees.

Many of the responses from our Senators and Representatives had a
common phrase regarding a limitation in civil action remedies if an
infringer “documented a reasonably diligent search in good faith.”

This phrase, or a portion of it, was included in responses from Tom
Feeney, Jack Reed, Vernon Ehlers, Sherrod Brown, David Wu, Lynn
Westmoreland, John Hall, Henry Waxman, Saxby Chambliss, Susan
Collins, Mel Martinez, Olympia Snowe and Ric Keller.

It’s rather easy to understand how someone could read that phrase
and think that a reasonably diligent search for a copyright holder
could be a good thing for artists. One problem, the proposed law
DOES NOT ENCOURAGE a reasonably diligent search.

In fact the legislation does the opposite. It makes it easy for
someone to do a quick search on a registry and then call a work of
art an orphan if is doesn’t show in the registry results. No other
searching would need to be done to orphan a work. That’s not a
diligent search. IT’S LAZY!

I’ve searched for artists to get the rights to use their work in my
books. I know what it can take to find someone and get their
permission. Sometimes you can’t find them. You know what I do? I
don’t use the work without their permission! My inability to find
someone doesn’t give me the right to infringe on their work.

Having a searchable registry to help track down artists is a good
idea.

Using any registry as a basis to orphan our creative works IS A
TERRIBLE IDEA!

The Orphan Works Act is NOT about grandma’s wedding photos.

Some supporters of the Orphan Works Act, such as Senator Ben
Cardin, use the argument that this legislation will help grandma
restore her wedding photos if she can’t find the original
photographer. Grandma’s photos are not what this bill is about.

As artists we are mostly concerned with unauthorized commercial use
of our works. Non-profit use of orphaned works is already protected
in our current copyright laws.

Senator Bob Corker states in his letter to artist Tony Beazley “I
believe that it is important for people to have access to resources
and materials without the unnecessary threat of a lawsuit.” I
disagree. The threat of a lawsuit is necessary to protect our work
from unauthorized use.

In fact, according to Florida Senator Mel Martinez, “The bill
specifies that monetary relief may not be made for damages, costs
and attorney’s fees.” In no way is this good for artists.

Senator Saxby Chambliss in his letter to artist Brian Laframboise
says “Under this legislation, owners of works would be able to
receive compensation for the use of their infringed work.” This is
a misleading statement. The legislation actually severely limits
our potential compensation from infringers, to the point where it
may not be practical to go after infringers at all.

When a law limits the penalty for theft of our work to less than
the expense of penalizing the thief, there is very little incentive
not to steal our work.

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison contradicts herself in her written
response to Mrs. Matthews. In the same sentence she says “I believe
copyright protection is a foundation of innovation”, in which seems
to oppose the legislation, but then she continues to say “copyright
law should work to ultimately protect the best interests of
consumers.” Copyright law is not about protecting consumers, it’s
about protecting the rights of creators!

Don’t let Congress orphan your work! Write letters and call NOW!

Take two minutes and write Congress. Go to
http://capwiz.com/illustratorspartnership/home/.

GET ON AN ORPHAN WORKS E-MAIL LIST:
To be notified of the latest information on the Orphan Works bill
and how to easily contact your legislators, send an e-mail to
illustratorspartnership@cnymail.com and ask to be added to the
Orphan Works list.

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Orphan Works Act Opposition Grows

Diane Clancy Art Blog Posted on by

I thought we all needed a little Shimmering Joy in dealing with life’s realities – such as the Orphan Works Act.  Clearly this bill started out with good intentions of allowing, for instance, museums to photograph their collections … it has turned into a monster  that wants artists’ right to be fairly caput!!  The breadth of creative types against this is amazing!! Please once again take 2 minutes to take action. Shimmering Joy, Digital © Diane Clancy   FROM THE ILLUSTRATORS’ PARTNERSHIP Over 100,000 letters have gone out to Senators and Congressmen from our CapWiz site. Opposition to the Orphan Works Act continues to grow.  Here are some of organizations who oppose it: http://illustratorspartnership.org/01_topics/article.php?searchterm=00273 And here are some of the excellent position papers written by some of these groups: NUJ condemns “free for all” US Orphan Works legislation http://www.epuk.org/News/863/nuj-opposes-us-orphan-works  The American Association of Independent Music A2IM Position on the Proposed Orphan Works Legislation in the United States http://www.a2im.org/newsDetail.aspx?newsID=117 Association of Medical Illustrators Denounces ‘Orphan Works’ Bills Before Congress http://www.examiner.com/p-175592~Association_of_Medical_Illustrators_Denounces__Orphan_Works__Bills_Before_Congress.html Two Cartoon-Group Presidents Slam Possible ‘Orphan Works’ Legislation http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003802183 The Canadian Association of Photographers and Illustrators in Communications Orphan Works Update: The Orphan Works Debate in the US http://www.capic.org/copyright.html Advertising Photographers of America  APA Position Paper on Orphan Works http://www.apanational.com/files/public/APA__On_Orphan_Works.pdf  Don’t Let Congress Orphan Your Work 2 minutes is all it takes to write Congress and fight for your copyright:  http://capwiz.com/illustratorspartnership/home/ Please forward this message in its entirety to every artist you know. ~ Diane Clancy Technorati Tags: Orphan Works Act … [CLICK TO READ MORE]

Moving Toward Licensing

Diane Clancy Art Blog Posted on by

I am making progress … I hope tomorrow I will be able to start moving on licensing again. Licensing is when someone or some company wants to use your images on their things – whether a yoga CD for someone’s class or Hallmark on their cards or place mats for your table and everything in between. Since many of my paintings are popular, I would very much like to license my work so lots of people can enjoy them.  Cyan Portal, Digital © Diane Clancy With licensing the artist gets some amount of money each time her image is used. Once that is set up, it becomes passive income – like royalties from a book.  I am sure you can see why I like this idea. I can feel the internal changes happening that mean I can getting ready to tackle licensing.  I am realizing that I am worried I will get rejected .. well, we know for sure there will likely be more than a few of those unless I hit the heart of the target right off! With all this commotion about the Orphan Works Act, I also have been discouraged to move along on the licensing … people were saying that places wouldn’t have to do licensing any more.  But at this point I am convinced that reputatable places will stay be paying. So now it is just about time to get started … and to bill once again the place that I did work for in … [CLICK TO READ MORE]

Illustration Friday – Worry & Free Copyright E-Book

Diane Clancy Art Blog Posted on by

Illustration Friday has a challenge every week. This week is Worry. I hope you like this Worry!!  These bubbles are very concerned about this sick looking bubble – hence the worry.  I LOVE this sky!!! Illustration Friday is a great way to showcase your work and a wonderful opportunity to meet lots of wonderful people! I encourage you to check it out! Lots of fun people and paintings!  Worry, Digital © Diane Clancy There is a free e-book Marketing Crafts and Visual Arts: The Role of Intellectual Property.  Here is the post where you can read about it.  The blog is the Textile Arts Resource Guide.  Here is the link to where you download the ebook. Once you read the book, you will have less to WORRY about! <grin> ~ Diane Clancy Technorati Tags: Illustration Friday … [CLICK TO READ MORE]