Orphan Works

January 27, 2007

Last year there was fierce opposition to the proposed US “Orphan Works” legislation, which was designed to make it easier to use works whose copyright owners could not be located but, in essence, giving cart blanche for copyright infringement and providing only punitive compensation that would prohibit any retrograde action to recover costs for “accidental” infringement or infringement in good faith. It looks as if the bill did not die, as many had erroneously thought, and is all set to make another appearance.

The US Copyright Office has just completed it’s study of problems related to orphan works. You can download the report from here: http://www.copyright.gov/orphan/

FROM THE ILLUSTRATORS’ PARTNERSHIP

Orphan Works Revisited

It appears that Orphan Works legislation will soon rear its head
again. The word from Washington is that it will again be fast-tracked
and its sponsors will resist “any significant modifications to the
existing draft.”

Last year, visual arts groups came together as an informal coalition.
We shared information and coordinated a letter writing campaign.
Monday, Jan. 29 these groups are scheduled to meet in Washington to
discuss a unified strategy. The groups (listed below) will formally
be called The Imagery Alliance.

Each member organization has been asked to make a voluntary
contribution to the Alliance. But since some groups are forbidden by
their tax-exempt status to engage in lobbying, the Alliance must
first determine the best way to collect and distribute money. In some
cases, it may be necessary for groups to simply educate their members
by directing those who wish to contribute to a tax-appropriate orphan
works fund. We’ll update you when this has been determined. We
believe that any money raised in this cause should be used
specifically to improve Orphan Works legislation and not consumed in
maintenance, administration or for other organizational expenses.

—The Board of the Illustrators’ Partnership

The Imagery Alliance:
Advertising Photographers of America (APA)
American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA)
American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP)
American Society of Picture Professionals (ASPP)
Association of Photographers (AOP) (UK)
Art Directors Club (ADC)
British Association of Picture Libraries & Agencies (BAPLA)
Coordination of European Agencies Press Stock Heritage (CEPIC)
Editorial Photographers (EP)
Graphic Artists Guild (GAG)
Illustrators’ Partnership of America (IPA)
North American Nature Photography Assoc. (NANPA)
National Press Photographers Assoc (NPPA)
Picture Archive Council of America (PACA)
Picture Licensing Universal System (PLUS)
Professional Photographers of America (PPA)
Society for Photographic Education (SPE)
Stock Artists Alliance (SAA)
White House News Photographers Assoc. (WHNPA)