Ban the Orphan Works Bill!
Target:
Artists and anyone who cares about their livelihood
Sponsored by:
The Orphan Works Bill is designed to benefit big corporations and legalize theft. Individual artists would have to pay to register their work at private institutions. Anything not registered would be an "orphan work" and free to use without penalty or payment.
Effectively, artists would lose any right to make money from their artwork.
We can prevent this. Ban the Orphan Works Bill!
Effectively, artists would lose any right to make money from their artwork.
We can prevent this. Ban the Orphan Works Bill!
The Orphan Works Bill is designed to benefit big corporations and legalize theft. Individual artists would have to pay to register their work at private institutions. Anything not registered would be an "orphan work" and free to use without penalty or payment.
Effectively, artists would lose any right to make money from their artwork.
We can prevent this. Ban the Orphan Works Bill!
Effectively, artists would lose any right to make money from their artwork.
We can prevent this. Ban the Orphan Works Bill!
We the undersigned
Have read about and know the intentions of the Orphan Works Bill
and
Understand that it is set only to benefit corporations and not individual artists or their livelihood
and therefore
Agree that Congress should never pass this bill or let it become law in any way, shape or form
The Orphan Works Bill (read about it here) is a bill that would make artists register all their work with a private institution for a fee, protecting already existing work but not supporting in any way any future works the artist might create. This makes it easier for large corporations to use the art and for the art to be stolen and used without the artist's permission!
This is unacceptable.
Under current law, any works an artist creates are already copyrighted to that artist. Also, an artist can sue for stolen work as well as fair value of said artwork. This is supported by international law.
The Orphan Works Bill would take away any right an artist has to get paid for his or her work.
There's a reason the phrase "starving artist" exists. Why make artists pay to register their work with a private institution and make theft easier? Currently, these private institutions are untested%u2014so if your work is registered but there's a bug in the system, all your work and money is for nothing. All it takes is for someone to claim that a work is not registered (and therefore an orphan work) and use it for free with no penalty!
Why would such a bill be written, much less passed?
To benefit corporations.
This is a travesty that must be prevented. Let the artists of the world take their future in their own hands! It's time to unite, and tell Congress that the Orphan Works Bill should never be passed!
Thank you for reading this letter. It is our hope that with enough voices saying "No", Congress will listen. We need to protect ourselves--the time to act is now. Feel free to spread the word!
Ban the Orphan Works Bill!
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We signed the "Ban the Orphan Works Bill!" petition!
# 620:
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# 618:
This bill will affect artists worldwide and is certainly not made with the artist in mind!
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# 607:
As an illustrator this bill would undermine the small amount that we live off of and dumb down culture as a whole to rely on quick fix clip art.
# 606:
# 605:
I am a photographer and this bill will allow anyone to use my photographs with out my consent or even worse steal the rights to my work. It seems to me to be unconstitutional and may very well destroy art as we no it.
# 604:
There are many loopholes in this bill, effectively protecting art theft. This bill must not be passed.
# 603:
# 602:
This is theft made to look legal. Ban the Orphan Works Bill.
# 601:
We need all the help we can get!
# 600:
I am a hobbyist jewelry maker who purchases most of my materials from self-representing artists. The hard work and innovation of these individuals would be negatively affected by this bill. These are individuals who are self-employed, small business owners whose livelihoods would be at stake if this bill were passed.
# 599:
# 598:
My Dear Anam, Darlene Simmemon, is a very talented writer and artist. Her work will be greatly affected if this bill goes through. I want to see her talents protected.
# 597:
You should all write letters to our Utah Senators protesting the Artworks Orphan bill. Senator Orrin G. Hatch - fax (202) 224-6331. Senator Bob Bennett - fax (801) 524-5730. Orrin and his disconcern for the independent artist is going down.
# 596:
Copyrights affects the people who work hard for something they have created. It's unfair that other people can't use their own creativity. It's unfair that they come up with the Orphan Works Bill so that they can use other peoples ideas.
# 595:
# 594:
Don't diminish peoples rights.
# 593:
Whose idea was the Orphan Works Bill anyway? Don't they have anything better to do with their time? And how did it ever get any leverage? Why mess with the copyright laws that are now in existence?
# 592:
If we aren't observant, not only this right but all others will be stolen away.
# 591:
# 590:
Please do not destroy the rights of all intellectual copyright owners. Protect visual artists from theft! Thank you!
# 589:
My sister and father are artists. Any bill that makes it relatively easy to steal someones livelihood is wrong. Proving that someone did a "reasonable search" would be difficult, as would getting any sort of compensation after the fact. This bil should be stopped.
# 588:
I may not be an artist, but I'm a musician, and I have friends who are artists. I would hate to see their talents go to waste because of something stupid like this.
# 587:
# 586:
Why not take patent protections away at the same time? This bill is doing the same thing to artist's. Vote no.....
# 585:
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# 583:
Ban the Orphan Works Bill!!!
# 582:
Really startling and dismaying. More people need to know about this and help to quash it.
# 581:
# 580:
I am the artist, and I would be impacted! The pride i take on my work would be someone else's to take. That isn't right
# 579:
This is unjust. It just gives corporate america more power to take and prosper from works that have no right to own. Artist's have a hard enough time these days simply existing.
# 578:
Kill this bill!! It is completely unfair to artists and creative minds everywhere!
# 577:
ban it
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# 575:
I am the Artist and do original Gourd Art and I am totally against this Bill
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# 571:
I am a photographer and a digital artist. I am enraged at this bill. I work very hard on my peices and I am disturbed to find out that there is a bill trying to be passed to STEEL! YES-STEEL! my hard work. That would be like someone working in IT or a Lawyer or anyone, working and not getting credit or paid for the works. This is in direct violation of the current copyright laws!
# 570:
# 569:
I am new to photography, but I take my pictures very seriousley. I put a lot of thought, time and heart into my pictures and I don't think that someone else should have the right to steal and use my work for their own gain for any reason! If they want great art, let them go make their own!
# 568:
I am an amateur photographer and I think that this bill is ludicrous! If you can do this to artists...why not include authors and take away their copyrights! See how ridiculous that sounds!! Have a heart...we all have bills to pay and mouths to feed. The economy is horrible as it is....why are you attempting to make things worse?
# 567:
My hard work & imagination goes into designing. Nobody should be able to use my thoughts, either in print or picture!
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# 564:
Who thought up this idiot idea? If it passes, I can tell you what all my works will be from now on. Words not allowed here and images that the conseravtive Tipper types wouldn't want displayed anyway. (Anyone know the bill number? Is it in the House or the Senate? That would be very helpful to know to write my reps. about.)
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# 558:
Any photos or works of art I share with my friends and family and blog followers belong to me - and should only be used by me - without me jumping through hoops - kill the bill. Artist do not want it and neither do everyday phtographers.
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# 555:
As an artist this Bill is a horrible idea! STOP IT!
# 554:
I'm a photographer and my husband is a graphic designer. It's bad enough that our work is illegally stolen from the internet these days. To give anyone the idea that taking it is legal is reprehensible!
# 553:
# 552:
Just doesn't seem fair to take away something that someone has put their heart and soul into!
# 551:
http://mag.awn.com/index.php?ltype=pageone&article_no=3631
