Orphan Works... tell Obama!

hobodactyl

I'm sure everyone has heard of the Orphan Works Bill that's being looked at, and I just wanted to suggest going to Obama's change.gov site and voicing your opinion on it in their "Open for Questions" area:

http://change.gov/page/content/openforquestions20081229/

Just type "orphan works" into the search and you'll find several questions that have already been started and can be voted on. This is something that could potentially effect us all and anything we can do to help is worth a shot!

Jeremy Lindstrom

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/09/orphan-works-co.html

Thought that died..

JasonLavoie

To tell you the truth, I thought this died as well I remember when it was first posted here, I couldn't believe what I was reading.

Is this a state side bill? Or do you think Canada will take part in this as well (further down the line)?

Justin Meisse

definately this country is in need of copyright and patent reform, you know there's something wrong with the system when there are companies whose sole existance is to sue people who accidently step on their library of copyrights and/or patents.

Daaark

Copyrights and patents are 2 completely different things.

kat

Dekard wrote: »

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/09/orphan-works-co.html

Thought that died..

Didn't die, the financial crisis pushed it to one side and those that wanted OW almost managed to 'fast track' it through the back door. They don't play nice.

Supporters are apparently on record (publicly) saying they're going to try fast tracking it again this year.

Justin Meisse

Daaark wrote: »

Copyrights and patents are 2 completely different things.

That's funny, I don't recall saying they were.

Mark Dygert

Lazy orphans, I hope Obama can put them to work in the American auto industry where they belong...

oXYnary

Hmm conceptart.org seems against it.

What are the positives and negatives for us? Beyond our companies interests. Our personal works.

hobodactyl

Here is a pretty nice article that discusses the Orphan Works from a less biased view:

http://artslawyer.blogspot.com/2008/10/bush-signed-pro-ip-act-yesterday.html

Although I have to say the Massive Black guys seem to be very against the bill and that means something to me.

Steve Schulze

Is this a state side bill? Or do you think Canada will take part in this as well (further down the line)?

One would assume that the artwork created in a certain country by a citizen of that country would fall under that country's laws. Right? That said, this bill is going to create a huge fucking mess which will impact on us all to some degree, even if not directly.

That's my barely researched perspective, at least.

gavku

Yeah Jason spoke about this at the MB event in NZ....

...this is a sound clip he played as well...

[ame]http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=CqBZd0cP5Yc[/ame]


ca thread on what they are doing about it...

http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=145485

oXYnary

I dunno. I was with the guy into he went off the deep end mentioning academic marxists. That just ruined any idea of him having no political bias in this versus the artists well being.

I can see the value from both sides. The question is has/is the legislation still in enough infancy to allow better protection for artists? Is it set in stone the way it is worded now?

I also can see this coming to the Supreme Court in its current form if passed if indeed it does work the way this interview mentions.

Steve Schulze

ca thread on what they are doing about it...
http://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=145485

This needs to be highlighted as it's a pretty big deal, in fact it's probably something that should be mentioned on the Polycount front page.

http://www.conceptart.org/search/index.php?cat=bestof&forumid=5 ConceptArt.Org has created a search system for locating art and artists, essentially cutting off the paid registry industry before they can even get off the ground. Click the images and find the original thread. Click the artist name and contact them directly. This also keeps these readying companies from acting as middlemen, between the searcher and the artist who they wish to hire. There is no room for that in our business.

I designed and we rebuilt all our databases and set up conceptart.org servers to handle up to 200 terabytes of secure storage. This service is entirely free and is a gift to the community from ConceptArt.Org...

Have a read through then go and dip your hat to the CA crew.

kat

Hmm, only problem with that, which doesn't appear to have been mentioned (I couldn't see any mention of it), is the fact that the "paid registries" will have legal (or sanctioned) status directly from the Gov (read that as the CO); simply setting up a database isn't necessarily going to right a wrong so anyone thinking of doing this for their respective communities needs to consider that.

hobodactyl

Well, I think the idea of what they're setting up is because since it's a large site you could say that a "diligent search" wasn't made if your art is posted in such a public place. Although you're right, it's pretty awful that although this will basically be required, they're *GASP* relying on the private sector to fill this void. Totally ludicrous.

Also, I haven't found info on this question: If an international artist's art is stolen by an American entity, will they be held under the U.S. law, or would current international copyright laws prevail? Totally insane

kat

True, the trouble is creators are not really in a position to *hope* that would be the case, it needs to be definitively set out; registering work on indie sites *needs* to have legal standing otherwise it's just another backdoor waiting to be opened.

Your 'local' laws apply BTW, you'd (supposed to) seek damages based on laws of your place of residence/work.

hobodactyl

Definitely agree. BTW just checked out your site, lots of awesome stuff on there!