Orphan Works Campaign . . .

Stock Asylum Staff Report
July 11, 2006

Concerned that political pressure could lead to enactment of an Orphan Works law during this session of Congress, the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) has launched a letter-writing campaign aimed at scuttling the bill or, at least, changing several provisions in it.

"We believe that Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX; chairman of the Subcommittee on the Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property) will try to move this bill through the full Judiciary Committee as soon as he realistically can, so it is important that you contact these lawmakers right away," the ASMP said in a letter to its membership.

The letter also will go out to members of other organizations, including Advertising Photographers of America, Editorial Photographers, Graphic Artists Guild, Illustrators Partnership of America, National Press Photographers Association, Picture Archive Council of America, Professional Photographers of America, Stock Artists Alliance and a number of international groups.

Smith is the primary sponsor of the bill that would make it easier to use copyrighted materials when the author is not known or cannot be found. The legislation would limit monetary and legal relief for such copyright owners who come forward after publication of their work.

The bill, HR 5439, is a significant improvement over a law proposed by U.S. Copyright office in January. However, ASMP and other groups want the entire bill defeated. In lieu of that, ASMP's letter proposes several changes that would make the legislation more palatable to photographers, artists, illustrators and creators of fabric designs, all of whom frequently see their work used without attribution.

"We worked hard to negotiate changes to the proposed Orphan Works Act, but, ultimately, the negotiated changes were not significant enough to allow us to support the bill in its current form," said ASMP Executive Director Eugene Mopsik. "It still places an unreasonable burden on the visual artist."

In a sample letter circulated by ASMP, the organization calls the proposal "fundamentally flawed."

"Its effect would be to create compulsory licenses for all works whose owners cannot be located. However, unlike all other compulsory licenses of copyrighted works, this license would often be free. That underlying unfairness, which would be retroactively applicable to all existing copyrighted works, is fatal to the reasonableness of the bill," the letter added.

At a minimum, ASMP's letter urges, Congress to amend the bill to require that the U.S. Copyright Office make its collection of copyrighted images searchable online; change provisions limiting monetary and injunctive remedies; and make other improvements favorable to image creators.

ASMP asks photographers and other artists to contact their House Representatives and members of the House Subcommittee on the Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property, which exists under the House Committee on the Judiciary. ASMP has taken on a leadership role in opposing orphan works legislation.

The House bill, the original Copyright Office proposal, contact information for subcommittee members and much background information on The Orphan Works Act can be found in The Stock Asylum's special Orphan Works Section. The U.S. House maintains contact information for all its members in an online listing. Links to both resources can be found below.

 

 

For The Stock Asylum Orphan Works Section, click here.

To contact your representative: click here.

The ASMP web site can be found at: http://www.asmp.org.