Orphan Works Update

July 21, 2008

The Illustrators Partnership are pursing amendments to the Orphan Works bill being presented to Congress in the USA.
This issue affects photographers not only in the USA but also anyone whose works may be used or discoverable within the USA.
You can make a difference by contacting US Congressmen, even if you don’t live in the USA.

Here’s a short extract from the Illustrator’s Partnership Orphan Works blog…

Summary of Issues at Stake in House Bill
We’ve had word that the House Judiciary Committee may mark-up the Orphan Works Bill this week. This is the session where Committee Members will propose, accept and reject amendments to H.R. 5889. After markup, the bill could be reported out of the House Committee and go to the floor for a vote.
We’ve submitted several critical amendments for consideration: These would limit the scope of the bill to affect only true orphaned work. Unless such amendments are adopted, we believe the bill should not be reported out until its impact on small businesses can be determined. Here’s our summary of the issues at stake in the House version of this bill: (click the link to continue)