Monday, July 20, 2015

Next Great Copyright Act -- UPDATED 7/27 with CCC link and commentary

UPDATE 7/27 -- This is the entire July 20th post with links added through 7/26. While the deadline for letters to Copyright Office has passed .. the fight goes on. Inform yourself and share what you learn. The internet needs visual artists .. and sharing of images has become a crucial part of social media. Were are the blanket license agreements for protections, credits and compensation for visual artists???
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ARTISTS -- be proactive about your rights!



Lots of links about this issue making the rounds LEARN MORE and ACT NOW!!! Letter deadline is July 23. Copyright office is ASKING TO HEAR FROM ARTISTS. Use your voice!

Here is a video that is an over hour-long Will Terry podcast ... where illustrator Brad Holland explains the history and impact of the copyright law proposal..... "Eveything You Know about Copyright Law is About to Change"

Do you know what the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) is??? This private entity is collecting blanket license fees for use of copyrighted material for the benefit of songwriters, authors and publishers. Why not visual artist??? Watch this and learn....




Summary below from Facebook link to Illustrators Partnership http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Artists-Alert--The-Return-of-Orphan-Works-Part-1.html?soid=1102063090742&aid=3vozerBiCPE



Artists Alert: From the Illustrators Partnership 

The Return of Orphan Works
Part 1: "The Next Great Copyright Act" 

JULY 1, 2015 
For more than a year Congress has been holding hearings for the drafting of a brand new US Copyright Act. At its heart is the return of Orphan Works. 
Twice, Orphan Works Acts have failed to pass Congress because of strong opposition from visual artists, spearheaded by the Illustrators Partnership.
Because of this, the Copyright Office has now issued a special call for letters regarding the role of visual art in the coming legislation. 


Included bullet points for NGCA


Here are the Basic Facts
"The Next Great Copyright Act" would replace all existing copyright law.
It would void our Constitutional right to the exclusive control of our work.
It would "privilege" the public's right to use our work.
It would "pressure" you to register your work with commercial registries.
It would "orphan" unregistered work. 
It would make orphaned work available for commercial infringement by "good faith" infringers.
It would allow others to alter your work and copyright these "derivative works" in their own names. 
It would affect all visual art: drawings, paintings, sketches, photos, etc.; past, present and future; published and unpublished; domestic and foreign




Here is link direct to copyright.gov page to submit your letter via email:
http://copyright.gov/policy/visualworks/comment-form/

Artists Brad Holland and Will Terry have been trying to alert and educate fellow artists.

Here are some links that have shown up on my radar...

Illustrators Partnership Orphan Works Blog ..With letter link and tips on letter writing
http://ipaorphanworks.blogspot.com/

American Society of Illustrators Partnership blog post w/ link to video and sample letters:
http://www.asip-repro.org/

Website for Illustrators Partnership of America..
http://www.illustratorspartnership.org/

Illustrators Partnership of America on Vimeo (from 2013? .. shows video of SBA roundtable on Orphan Works act referenced in the video link above...)
https://vimeo.com/channels/artistsrights

From Brad Holland's Blog ...
http://www.drawger.com/holland/?article_id=15400

Digital Doodles  Tumblr post with more info and links:
http://digital-doodle.tumblr.com/post/124514342906/i-interrupt-a-long-term-hiatus-to-help-raise

SBA (Small Business Administration) Blog post on Small Business Patents, Copyrights and Trademarks https://www.sba.gov/blogs/small-business-patents-copyrights-and-trademarks

SBA article on Intellectual Property Law (with links)
https://www.sba.gov/content/intellectual-property-law

NEW LINK 7/26
Copyright Clearance Center website .. http://www.copyright.com/
Just a reminder.. CCC is NOT the same as the US Copyright office. CCC is a private company!

AMY COMMENTARY: Did you know...  for video clips on Buzzfeed .. Buzzfeed sends creators a blanket release form for permission to use the creators video without compensation. This is another example of pre-existing blanket releases that allow sharing ... benefit and protect companies .. and give nothing to the creators/copyright holders. If blanket releases exist for sharing video clips ... and blanket license forms exist that protect songwriters, authors, publishers and universities.. clearly there are ways to find, track and compensate for all this sharing. Where is the blanket license form for visual artists????

Newsletter alert from Guild of Natural Scienct Illustrators (GNSI)...https://gnsi.org/

Your Copyright is in Danger

IMPORTANT NOTICE:
It is important that if you ever expect to reuse your copyrighted work as a way to make a living that you respond to this Notice. The Copyright Office has explicity asked for artist's comments on the proposed changes. But time is short. If you have not seen previous notices on this action, now is the time to write.
The Congressional machinery is at it again after a 8 year hiatus. The Copyright office is drafting a new Copyright Act. A major part of this revision is designed to break loose the use of your copyrighted art. Large internet firms and lawyers devoted to free culture on the internet are pushing this. Members of the Guild are writing letters. We need you to write one as well.
The Guild of Natural Science Illustrators is a member of the American Society of Illustrators Partnership, and is supporting the efforts to inform lawmakers about the damage that can be done to artist's ability to conduct successful businesses.


JUST ADDED ...

I was tagged for a thread on this topic, which included the two links below urging folks not to panic. 

This is the wonder of the internet .. lots of info out there.. and it comes at you quickly. Read up. Get informed. Look for transparent sources. Learn and SHARE...

Here's my commentary  .... consider the source when reading pro and con arguments.  I find it most interesting to try to follow the money. It's nearly impossible when it comes to images on the internet.  There is legal precedent for "sharing" creative works like written articles and music --- It's "okay" to photocopy that article and distribute it for reading material in a class BECAUSE there was that Kinko's lawsuit that ended up with a way for MONEY to be made and distributed from this kind of use of copyrighted material. The agreement was between PUBLISHERS and the COMPANIES/UNIVERSITIES. We hear songs all the time and in all sorts of places (elevator music anyone) BECAUSE a very strong arrangement (no pun intended) between music agencies and songwriters. Don't kid yourself. Somewhere.. some big company is making money right now from the "fair use" of all those shared pictures we all love. Where's the deal for visual artists who created those images??

From Graphic Policy website:

DON’T BELIEVE THE HYPERBOLE, THERE’S NO ORPHAN WORKS LAW BEFORE CONGRESS (UPDATED)

http://graphicpolicy.com/2015/07/20/dont-believe-the-hyperbole-theres-no-orphan-works-law-before-congress/

From Tele-Read Blog:

Orphan works copyright law controversy: Don’t panic!

http://www.teleread.com/copy-right/orphan-works-copyright-law-controversy-dont-panic/

AND NOW... Brad Holland and Will Terry rebuttal to Graphic Policy post.  In the attack article written by "Brett" (doesn't give his last name) he only attacks the incorrect statements I made - that Brad corrected. He goes on and on about how the video says "it's a bill - don't believe the video it's not a bill" In other words - he ignored all of the accurate information that Brad the expert gave - the entire content of the video - and attacked the guy asking questions and making a few inaccurate statements....that were corrected in the video by the expert...
This quote and more on this link:



Previous post on Copyright Info for Artists .. and case studies on unauthorized use of images on the internet....http://stuartngbooks.blogspot.com/2014/07/copyright-info-for-artists_15.html

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