(no subject)
On the Road with the Orphan Works Act:
FROM THE ILLUSTRATORS’ PARTNERSHIP
An Orphan Works Road Map
As the Orphan Works bill barrels along, the first thing to remember is that so far, this is only a House bill. The Senate will now draft a bill of its own. We’ll tell you what you can do to oppose this amendment below, but first, let’s review:
The Orphan Works Study was conducted in 2005 and released by the Copyright Office January 31, 2006. It has now been transformed into the House Bill (H.R. 5439). The Senate will still rely on The Orphan Works Study as an authoritative source in drafting the Senate bill.
The House Subcommittee drafted its bill (H.R. 5439) after one hour of public testimony March 8, 2006. Four witnesses testified. Artists were not invited. Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) told witnesses that any group which opposed the bill would be “left behind.” Witnesses agreed (or were pressured to agree) that they would consent to a speedy compromise on the bill’s final language.
House Negotiations. By invitation only, House negotiators met between March and May for 20 hours of closed-door sessions. Creators were represented by Professional Photographers of America (portrait, wedding and baby photographers) and by the American Society of Media Photographers (speaking by default for illustrators and graphic artists). A lobbyist for Getty and Corbis was also appointed by the House to represent creators.
The Orphan Works Act of 2006 (H.R. 5439) The House bill was introduced to the subcommittee last Monday, May 22, 2006 and marked up 2 days later by voice vote of a quorum of the subcommittee. Chairman Smith intends to move the bill out of full committee immediately and into the House of Representatives where it will be voted on. The House has been told that the bill represents the best interests - and the consent - of all parties.
Our Immediate Strategy. Because the bill has been moved so quickly, artists will now have no time to express their opposition to members of the House Judiciary Committee. We must shift our focus to our district Representatives and members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Your Own Congressman. Locate the name and address of your own House representative. You can do this by going to http://www.house.gov/ and simply entering your zip code in a search box. Over the next few days, we’ll supply you with bullet points to use in your letters. Please remember to emphasize that this bill far exceeds the mandate of an orphan works bill and that it will interfere with our rights as small businesspersons to engage in free market business transactions.
Senators. For the moment, we think it will be most effective to target Senators on the Senate Intellectual Property Subcommittee. We’ll provide you with the information to proceed.
Please remember that what has happened in the House subcommittee is the result of negotiations that were put in place before artists began writing letters to Congress.
It was a result of your letters that the Illustrators’ Partnership was invited to testify before the Senate April 8. This shows that if we speak out, we can be heard. No one should think that a letter to your senator or congressman will be wasted or used to prove disunity within our field. Artists may disagree on how to respond to the theft of our rights, but we can all agree we don’t want our rights stolen.
- Brad Holland and Cynthia Turner, for the Board of the Illustrators’ Partnership
To read H.R. 5439 - The Orphan Works Act of 2006, go to http://thomas.loc.gov
Enter H.R. 5439 in the search box, and select the "Bill Number" search option.It will take you to a master page where you can monitor this Bill's status as it moves through the process. You can review who signs up to Cosponsor the Bill, amendments that may be added, and all Congressional actions on votes and reports.
For additional information about Orphan Works developments, go to the IPA Orphan Works Resource Page for Artists
http://www.illustratorspartnership.org/01_topics/article.php?searchterm=00185
Or see IPA Forums: “Free Culture-The Copy Left Is Not Right.”
You may post responses or ask questions on these forums. First-time users will be asked to register.
You do not need to be an IPA member to use the IPA public Town Hall Forums.
Please post or forward this email in its entirety to any interested party ________________________________________________________________
FROM THE ILLUSTRATORS’ PARTNERSHIP
An Orphan Works Road Map
As the Orphan Works bill barrels along, the first thing to remember is that so far, this is only a House bill. The Senate will now draft a bill of its own. We’ll tell you what you can do to oppose this amendment below, but first, let’s review:
The Orphan Works Study was conducted in 2005 and released by the Copyright Office January 31, 2006. It has now been transformed into the House Bill (H.R. 5439). The Senate will still rely on The Orphan Works Study as an authoritative source in drafting the Senate bill.
The House Subcommittee drafted its bill (H.R. 5439) after one hour of public testimony March 8, 2006. Four witnesses testified. Artists were not invited. Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) told witnesses that any group which opposed the bill would be “left behind.” Witnesses agreed (or were pressured to agree) that they would consent to a speedy compromise on the bill’s final language.
House Negotiations. By invitation only, House negotiators met between March and May for 20 hours of closed-door sessions. Creators were represented by Professional Photographers of America (portrait, wedding and baby photographers) and by the American Society of Media Photographers (speaking by default for illustrators and graphic artists). A lobbyist for Getty and Corbis was also appointed by the House to represent creators.
The Orphan Works Act of 2006 (H.R. 5439) The House bill was introduced to the subcommittee last Monday, May 22, 2006 and marked up 2 days later by voice vote of a quorum of the subcommittee. Chairman Smith intends to move the bill out of full committee immediately and into the House of Representatives where it will be voted on. The House has been told that the bill represents the best interests - and the consent - of all parties.
Our Immediate Strategy. Because the bill has been moved so quickly, artists will now have no time to express their opposition to members of the House Judiciary Committee. We must shift our focus to our district Representatives and members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Your Own Congressman. Locate the name and address of your own House representative. You can do this by going to http://www.house.gov/ and simply entering your zip code in a search box. Over the next few days, we’ll supply you with bullet points to use in your letters. Please remember to emphasize that this bill far exceeds the mandate of an orphan works bill and that it will interfere with our rights as small businesspersons to engage in free market business transactions.
Senators. For the moment, we think it will be most effective to target Senators on the Senate Intellectual Property Subcommittee. We’ll provide you with the information to proceed.
Please remember that what has happened in the House subcommittee is the result of negotiations that were put in place before artists began writing letters to Congress.
It was a result of your letters that the Illustrators’ Partnership was invited to testify before the Senate April 8. This shows that if we speak out, we can be heard. No one should think that a letter to your senator or congressman will be wasted or used to prove disunity within our field. Artists may disagree on how to respond to the theft of our rights, but we can all agree we don’t want our rights stolen.
- Brad Holland and Cynthia Turner, for the Board of the Illustrators’ Partnership
To read H.R. 5439 - The Orphan Works Act of 2006, go to http://thomas.loc.gov
Enter H.R. 5439 in the search box, and select the "Bill Number" search option.It will take you to a master page where you can monitor this Bill's status as it moves through the process. You can review who signs up to Cosponsor the Bill, amendments that may be added, and all Congressional actions on votes and reports.
For additional information about Orphan Works developments, go to the IPA Orphan Works Resource Page for Artists
http://www.illustratorspartnership.org/01_topics/article.php?searchterm=00185
Or see IPA Forums: “Free Culture-The Copy Left Is Not Right.”
You may post responses or ask questions on these forums. First-time users will be asked to register.
You do not need to be an IPA member to use the IPA public Town Hall Forums.
Please post or forward this email in its entirety to any interested party ________________________________________________________________