Be Heard: to keep copyright protections, it’s time for each of us to take action!
Copyright laws may change – NOW is the time to be heard. Take a minute, read this post and send an email.
Below is a notice from the Copyright Alliance – please read it and send emails by March 24th – this is IMPORTANT and can directly affect each of us personally if changes are made. Since they offer a “forward to a friend” link, I decided I’d forward to all my blog friends in one fell swoop! To see the original letter, go here: http://budurl.com/ynah
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BACKGROUND:
Last year President Obama appointed and the U.S. Senate confirmed Victoria Espinel to be the first U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator. Her job is “to help protect the creativity of the American public” by coordinating with all the federal agencies that fight the infringement of intellectual property, which includes creating and selling counterfeit goods; pirating video games, music, and books; and infringing upon the many other creative works that are produced by artists in this country.
As you know, the unauthorized copying, sale, and distribution of artists’ intellectual property directly impact the ability of artists and creators to control the use of their own creativity, not to mention their ability to receive income they have earned from their labor. This impacts U.S. employment and the economy, and our ability to globally compete.
As required by an Act of Congress (The PRO-IP Act of 2008), Ms. Espinel and her White House team are preparing a Joint Strategic Plan that will include YOUR FEEDBACK on the costs and risks that intellectual property infringement has on the American public.
Here’s how to make yourself heard!
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1. Send an email to Ms. Espinel and the Obama Administration: intellectualproperty@omb.eop.gov and copy the Copyright Alliance on your email: info@copyrightalliance.org
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2. Begin your letter with “The Copyright Alliance has informed me of this welcome invitation from the Obama Administration to share my thoughts on my rights as a creator.”
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3. Include in your email: your story, why intellectual property rights are important to you, how piracy and infringement affect you, and what the U.S. government can do to better protect the rights of creative Americans.
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4. Also include in your email: your name, city, state, and what type of artist you are.
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5. DO NOT include any personal or private information as all comments will be posted publically on the White House website.
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All comments must be submitted by Wednesday, March 24 by 5:00 p.m. EST. To read the entire call for comments, click here.
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Don’t be shy! Take two minutes today to make your voice heard, and don’t forget to spread the word to everyone you know. Forward this notice using this short URL – http://bit.ly/cjDZJt – by email, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and more!
Best,
Lucinda Dugger |
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P.S. If you received this email from a friend, and you are interested in receiving more information about how you can speak up for your rights, sign up for our network of Copyright Advocates.
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PLEASE take action… TODAY!
I just did… – Tara Reed
P.S. Here is what I wrote, feel free to use this as a guide for your email if you’d like.
Dear Ms. Espinel -
The Copyright Alliance has informed me of this welcome invitation from the Obama Administration to share my thoughts on my rights as a creator.
My name is Tara Reed and I am a self-employed artist who makes a living licensing my art to manufacturers for use on products. Without the current or even more stringent copyright laws and penalties for piracy, my livelihood will be impacted. I rely on companies respecting my copyrights and paying me for use – without that, I would be another unemployment statistic.
With the internet and digital nature of business today, it is easier than ever for less-than-reputable companies to steal art and design, sometimes selling it as their stock art to reputable companies. I see it at every trade show I attend – art by myself or my colleagues being used without permission. It is disheartening and expensive to combat. Any changes in the law will make the problem that much more dire.
I urge you to take the creative business owners, who pay taxes and fight to make a living, into account when considering any change to the copyright laws and especially the designation of “Orphaned Works”. Tougher penalties and regulations should be put in place if any changes are being made. While it would be great to believe that people work from a place of honesty and integrity, it is unfortunately not always the case. Let’s not encourage people to cut corners who will do so without any threat of legal or financial ramifications.
Sincerely,
Tara Reed
Portland, Oregon
Licensed Artist
You think being an artist is scary now?
You should have been around in 1830!
There is A LOT of fear in the world right now: economics, politics, technology… of course many artists are very unhappy about the Orphan Works legislation. (Go here if you need a refresher, this post isn’t about the details.) I’m not happy about it either, don’t get me wrong, but I’d like to give some historical perspective.
So what happened in 1830 that was so terrible? That caused artists to panic, lose their livlihood and have to figure out how to adapt to an every changing world. I have one word for you: Camera.
Before the camera was made available commercially, artists were paid to paint portraits. No artist, no portraits. It kept a lot of people employed. But now (in 1830) people could spend a fraction of the time and money to get photographs of themselves. Voila! Overnight there were a lot of “starving artists” around.
You can imagine the upset and outrage in the artistic community. Not only did they wonder how they would feed their families, but I imagine there was a lot of discussion about how art was dying, never to be revived.
Then there was a shift. Since artists didn’t need to be focused solely on painting portraits that were true to life, they could turn their attention to other subjects and they could experiment. Modern art was born from the death-toll of the camera.
Without the camera we wouldn’t have abstract art, modern art, impressionism, cubism, you name it. Well… anything but super-dooper-realistic art.
Let’s now fast forward… imagine how professional photographers felt at the beginning of the digital camera revolution. Where before people would pay to have pictures taken and they would have to pay the photographer for prints… now a person can easily scan and print copies at home — breaking copyright laws and taking money out of the pockets of professionals.
Photographers could either throw in the towel or get creative. Change the way they do business to survive in an ever changing world where technology is cheaper and easier every day.
That is what we, as artists, are being forced to do: change the way we do business.
There is a lot of panic, anger and fear — artists pulling their art off the internet completely, password protecting so much of it that the chances of anyone seeing it get slimmer by the day. The simple fact is that art has been swiped, stolen and copied forever. It is a fact of life. Granted, it could get a lot easier with fewer consequences, but I believe we need to keep balance. Don’t simply awfulize and hide in a hole — make your opinions heard but also make a plan of how you will continue given either outcome of this threatening legislation.
But here’s the good news: what are we, if not creative?
I believe that artists will always be valuable and will be able to prosper, keeping their creativity and integrity in tact. Will we have to be more careful or change some of the ways we do business? More than likely. But let’s remember, we are not the only group of artists, nor the only type of business that has ever come up against adversity.
Who can say how careers in art will change in this decade, only time will tell. But if you give in to fear I can tell you how your career will change: it will cease to exist.
I would like to offer this to you:
- stay true to your art and nurture your creative side
- make your voice heard – but make it an empowered and informed voice, not a fearful one
- don’t let fear paralyze you
- if you want to make a living as an artist, there are risks. But there are risks in any profession so don’t buy into the “artist victim” mentality
Life and art will go on, it just depends how you choose to relate to it. I choose to be positive, take action to make my dreams come true and create from a place of peace and happiness. I hope you join me!
~ Tara
Forget Surviving – I plan to PREVAIL!
Well… it’s finally happened. I’ve had enough and it’s time for a therapeutic rant.
While talking with my friend Brenda this morning, she made a comment that has stuck with me all day: “Don’t survive, but prevail.”
Wow! That’s powerful! That’s from a position of weakness to a position of strength. Let’s say it again and make sure you got it:
Don’t survive, but PREVAIL!
Yeah! In the good ol’ American way and by the power vested in my by Quiet Riot, WE AIN’T GONNA TAKE IT… ANYMORE! Sing with me:
oh We’re Not Gonna Take It
no, We Ain’t Gonna Take It
oh We’re Not Gonna Take It Anymore
we’ve Got The Right To Choose And
there Ain’t No Way We’ll Lose It
this Is Our Life, This Is Our Song
we’ll Fight The Powers That Be Just
don’t Pick Our Destiny ’cause
you Don’t Know Us, You Don’t Belong
oh We’re Not Gonna Take It
no, We Ain’t Gonna Take It
oh We’re Not Gonna Take It Anymore
oh You’re So Condescending
your Gall Is Never Ending
we Don’t Want Nothin’, Not A Thing From You
your Life Is Trite And Jaded
boring And Confiscated
if That’s Your Best, Your Best Won’t Do
So what am I not going to take anymore? Here’s my list:
- Feeling out of control because of the financial mess in this country
- Putting up with the Orphan Works nonsense… I’m calling my Representatives!
- Not getting paid money that is due — no, sorry, not taking “too bad, we’re going out of business and your contract won’t be a priority — I’m sending demand letters. Getting in line and fighting for what is mine.
- Believing the doom and gloom on the news — I make my reality and dang it, I’m going to make it good! Like a big, hot brownies with fudge and whipped cream on top good — that good!
I’m armed with a paintbrush and I’m dangerous to the nay-sayers.
Forget Texas, don’t mess with Tara!
Join me in my revolt against chaos, negativity, getting stuck in the muck and mire, weighed down by the mass consciousness that all is lost.
I’m going to battle limiting beliefs! (with the help of Brenda – check her out here)
I’m going to remember that “THOUGHTS BECOME THINGS!”
Let’s start a creative revolution — the world needs art to make it smile, laugh and have hope — now more than ever. Turn off your tv, tune into your passion and potential to spread joy.
Let’s start a ‘PREVAIL-UTION’!
~ Tara
P.S. Images ©TaraReedDesignsInc — these ain’t no Orphans! Contact me if you want to use them. 
The Orphan Works fun never seems to end!
OK… here is the latest and greatest skinny…
FROM THE ILLUSTRATORS’ PARTNERSHIP
An Unprecedented Grassroots Response
10.6.08
Thank you to everyone who wrote, phoned and faxed Congress during the last hectic weeks. Speaking virtually with one voice, artists have rejected the Orphan Works Act.
Does that mean it’s dead? No. Far from it. Lobbyists will continue to promote it, this Congress may yet find a way to pass it, and if not, it will be back when the next Congress convenes in January.
So what happened last week and what does it mean?
All week we’d been getting assurances from various sources that the Orphan Works bill was dead for this session. Experience suggested we not bank on that. Vigilance was the word last Thursday night.
Then, as if following the previous week’s script – with Congress struggling to pass the bailout package, with Congressional offices closed and a televised debate set to start – we suddenly got word from a reliable source that the House leadership had decided to try moving the bill that night. Minutes later we got a confirmation from our lobbyist on Capitol Hill. We put out our first Alert.
All night Thursday and throughout the day Friday we and our colleagues continued to call the offices of key members of the House Judiciary Committee.
Their legislative aides gave us conflicting reports. Some assured us the bill was not on the calendar. Others confirmed that House and Senate leaders were trying to reach a compromise. Others acknowledged that the bill could be added to the calendar once an agreement had been reached.
By mid afternoon Friday the bill hadn’t passed and we received word from our lobbyist:
“No leadership decision on adjournment time yet . . . will be forthcoming . . . if they don’t adjourn sine die today (and they won’t), the Judiciary Committee Chairman, the Speaker and the Whip could, indeed, bring something like that back during a Lame Duck [session], if there is one [after the elections in November].”
So once again, vigilance is the word.
Catch 22
What many people don’t realize is that true opponents to the Orphan Works Act have had to labor under a Catch 22.
In 2006, when the bill was first introduced in the House, the then-Chairman warned that any group which opposed it would be “ignored” and “left behind.” Accordingly, only interest groups that agree to support the bill without fundamental changes have been allowed a voice in its drafting. Catch 22.
This is why the House bill has grown into a complicated piece of legislation. In addition to the databases where copyright owners would have to register their work, the House bill calls for the creation of a privately owned Infringers’ archive, sanctioned by the Copyright Office, where infringers would file a Notice of Intent to infringe works.
But a database where infringers can register their paperwork won’t protect your work – it can still be infringed. In fact, as a for-profit enterprise, the Archive will be in business to promote infringements. Its inclusion in the bill will simply give middlemen a chance to create the Archive, cutting themselves in as additional beneficiaries of the legislation.
As a result of this Catch 22, true opposition to the bill has had to come from the grassroots. We’ve had to fight against it from the outside. And as a cottage industry, we don’t have the lobbying resources of Big Internet firms and others.
Last spring we were warned not to oppose the bill at all because we’d be “rolled over” if we tried. But since then, more than 75 professional organizations have come together to oppose it. This represents more than half a million rights holders – and the number is growing daily as more people find out about it. This grassroots response has been unprecedented in the history of our field.
Where do we go from here?
The problem with this legislation remains its central premise: It creates the public’s right to use your work as a default right, available to anyone whenever you fail to make yourself sufficiently available for them to find.
This is a radical change to the way our government views private property. And we cannot see surrendering the exclusive right to the work we create to have a “seat at the table” of those dismantling that right. So, as we extend our most sincere thanks to all of you for your quick and heartfelt responses over the last weeks we hope to build on that momentum in the weeks ahead.
For the next month, lawmakers will be home campaigning: every member of the House is up for reelection. This means it would be the time for artists in each district to schedule a personal appointment with their representative. Write them and fax them at their home offices. Meet with them if you can. We’ll post talking points on our blog: http://ipaorphanworks.blogspot.com/
Tell them that you’d support a true Orphan Works bill, and refer them to the Amendments submitted to the House Subcommittee on July 11 by the Illustrators’ Partnership, Artists Rights Society and Advertising Photographers of America. http://ipaorphanworks.blogspot.com/2008/07/hr-5889-amendments.html If the real goal of this legislation is to benefit libraries and museums, our amendments suggest a precise way to do it.
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Over 75 organizations oppose this bill, representing over half a million creators.
U.S. Creators and the image-making public can email Congress through the Capwiz site: http://capwiz.com/illustratorspartnership/home/ 2 minutes is all it takes to tell the U.S. Congress to uphold copyright protection for the world’s artists.
INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS please fax these 4 U.S. State Agencies and appeal to your home representatives for intervention. http://www.illustratorspartnership.org/01_topics/article.php?searchterm=00267
CALL CONGRESS: 1-800-828-0498. Tell the U.S. Capitol Switchboard Operator “I would like to leave a message for Congressperson __________ that I oppose the Orphan Works Act.” The switchboard operator will patch you through to the lawmaker’s office and often take a message which also gets passed on to the lawmaker. Once you’re put through tell your Representative the message again.
If you received our mail as a forwarded message, and wish to be added to our mailing list, email us at: illustratorspartnership@cnymail.com Place “Add Name” in the subject line, and provide your name and the email address you want used in the message area. Illustrators, photographers, fine artists, songwriters, musicians, and countless licensing firms all believe this bill will harm their small businesses.
Please post or forward this message to any interested party.
STOP THE U.S. ORPHAN WORKS ACT NOW.
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