TIME WARNER is trying to pass a bill called ORPHAN WORKS.

It allows companies to use work they find without paying for it if they go through 'reasonable means' of contacting you. If for some reason you are unable to be contacted i.e. on vacation in europe for a year or changed your number! they can use your work for profit without paying you and with total immunity from paying later. This is very dangerous for artists and illustrators, musicians, or anyone creating anything please just follow this link and oppose the bill to your local representatives. The bill is backed by Time Warner which is trying to own everything.

Click on this URL to take action now
http://capwiz.com/illustratorspartnersh … %2Fhome%2F

STOP IT!

10 threads on this subject is enough!

Here are some recent announcements off the national ASMP site...

http://www.asmp.org/news/spec2008/orphan_update.php
contact your senator

http://asmp.org/audio/index.php
Pod Cast

everybody on this site should be worried about this bill!!!

We cannot afford to give individuals the legal right to infringe on our copyright.

On May 14, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved some revisions to its version of an Orphan Works amendment. You can see the full text of the bill, as revised, here. In spite of ASMP’s efforts, the bill does not provide even the minimum protections that ASMP considers necessary for photographers, and it is now time for the members to make their voices heard in the Senate.

We urge you to write to your Senators as soon as possible. You can find the name and contact information for your two Senators here. (After you have selected your state, your Senators will be the first two names in the list.)



Re: S.2913 the Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008

Dear Senator ________________________________:

I am one of your constituents, a professional photographer, and a member of the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP). It is crucial to my professional livelihood that you oppose this bill in its current form. If this bill’s current language becomes law, it would permit, and even encourage, wide-scale infringements of my copyrighted photographs while depriving me of many of the protections currently available to me under the Copyright Act, including the right to ask the courts to award statutory damages and attorneys’ fees. In the publication world, the reality is that most photographs will easily become considered orphaned, depriving me of a significant part of my much needed income.

I urge you to oppose this bill unless and until it is amended to contain at least the minimum provisions that are critical to protect photographers, including but not limited to a notice of use that must be filed before the use is made, upon penalty of losing eligibility to claim orphan work status for failure to file the notice; an archive of the notices, to be maintained by the Copyright Office or an approved third party; and other protections that appear in the current (May 15, 2008) language of H.R. 5889.

Please let me know if you have any questions or if I can provide you with any additional information. Thank you for your time. I hope that you will take the necessary actions to protect my interests and prevent the passage of this bill until it is amended to be fair and reasonable to all parties.

Respectfully yours,
(your name)

Time Warner can pass legislation?

I thought only Congress and the Senate could do that.

Duplicate of

Orphan Works Bill 2008-HR5889 - Discussion thread
Orphan Works Act : Write your senators!
Orphan Works Bill 2008 - HR5889 - text of bill
Extremely Urgent - message from APA to photogs
Another pro photog assn speaks on Orphan Works (NANPA)
Listen up Mayhem! Copyright Emergency
"Orphan Works Legislation, photo theft on
Urgent: APA Position on Orphan Works 2008

time warner is trying to steal your stuff (locked)
stolen work (“Time Warner passing a bill”, locked)
Letter to you from Michael Grecco, URGENT (locked)
Fwd: ASMP Urgent: contact your Congressperson (locked: has contact info for members of the committee)
Write you orphan rights protest letter now!!!!!! (locked)
Orphan Works Act 2008-Horrid potential new law (locked)
Senate Bill: Say goodbye to your copyrights (locked)
Orphan Works Act from an Artists Point of View (locked)
urgent!!!! this impacts photographers!! (APA  stance, locked)
urgent industry news! (APA  stance—dupe of previous--locked)
Orphaned Works law and what it means to you. (locked)
orphan works update (locked)
Similar to:

Orphan artworks compromise proposed (Larry Lessig’s proposal)