One OW Bill Dropped . . .

Stock Asylum Staff Report
Sept. 27 , 2006

 

In a move that could scuttle the orphan works proposal for the remainder of this session of Congress, U. S. Representative Lamar Smith pulled one of two bills that contain language that would make it easier to use copyrighted materials when the copyright owner is unknown or cannot be found.

However, it seemed certain that the issue will be revived next year after mid-term elections. Both Republicans and Democrats seem to want some kind of orphan works package. And Smith promised to revive the Copyright Modernization Act in 2007. Though the act pertains mostly to the music industry, it also contains language from the original Orphan Works Act, which was introduced in May. The original legislation remains active, though no one seems to be pushing it at this time.

"My Colleagues can be assured that I intend to move forward with this legislation in the next year and that I am confident that we will pass it then," Smith told the House Committee on the Judiciary on this date. The Texas Republican is chairman of the Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property.

The American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) immediately issued a letter to its membership saying, "The battle has been won, and we can breathe easier for a while. But the war is not over. ASMP will be watching closely to be sure that the bill does not suddenly reappear in any late-fall, 'lame duck' session."

The organization of professional photographers also said it plans to use the temporary reprieve to draft its own photographer- and artist-friendly version of of orphan works for introduction in the next session of Congress.

Photographers and illustrators are especially concerned about proposed orphan works legislation because their work is often reproduced without attribution. The lack of attribution makes it more likely that such works will be declared "orphans," potentially costing creators significant amounts of money. This is especially true in the stock photography industry where the same image can be licensed to several end-users.

In pulling the Copyright Modernization Act, Smith said he saw no realistic way Congress could enact the legislation during the remainder of this legislative session.

"So I think it is best not to force a few of my colleagues to cast hard votes that they would rather not cast on this particular bill," Smith told the Judiciary Committee.

Smith added, however, that he is convinced the bill could have passed Congress.

ASMP's General Counsel Victor Perlman has said the organization wanted Orphan Works postponed until next year in order to negotiate more changes.

He also admitted it might help if Democrats take over the House after the election, which is a possibility. Democrats have seemed more willing to listen to objections from organizations like ASMP, he said.

Though Smith's version of the legislation is considerably more favorable to image creators than the original Copyright Office proposal, ASMP wants Congress to change the legislation to require the U.S. Copyright Office make its collection of copyrighted images searchable online; improve provisions limiting monetary and injunctive remedies; and make other improvements favorable to image creators.

The Judiciary Committee web site is at: http://judiciary.house.gov.

The ASMP web site is at: http://www.asmp.org.