Late yesterday afternoon, Lamar Smith (R-TX), Chair of the House Subcommittee on Court, Internet and Intellectual Property introduced HR 5439, the Orphan Works Act of 2006. The bill, which seeks to limit liability for artists, educators and others who make a reasonably diligent search to find a copyright holder but cannot, is a significant improvement over the draft bill proposed by the Copyright Office in February. Here are some of the changes we like:

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It prohibits injunctions when the user of an orphan work recasts, transforms, adapts or integrates the [orphan] work with the [users] original expression in a new work of authorship. This ensures that the publication of transformative works that may include the entirety of an orphan work will not be able to be stopped by a court.
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It requires the Copyright Office to make available information that will help users understand what might constitute a reasonably diligent search.
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The bill makes clear that in determining the reasonable compensation an orphan works user must pay should the orphan works owner reappear, the owner has the burden of establishing the amount that a willing buyer and willing seller would have agreed to.
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The bill eliminates a provision that would have required the rules to sunset after 5 years.

While we would have preferred a cap on damages as opposed to reasonable compensation, it has been clear from the very beginning that such a change was a political non-starter. However, we would like a little more certainty that reasonable compensation will not lead to a great financial liability for the user. Well be asking for some report language that makes it clearer that the monetary value of an orphan work, particularly one that has been out of circulation for a long time, is low, if not zero.

We also would have liked the safe harbor, which prohibits any payment if a user immediately ceases using the orphan work when an owner reappears, to apply both to commercial and non-commercial uses. The concern here is that small artists who sell their works should be entitled to the same safe harbor as large museums and libraries. We understand that Congress members do not want to give this advantage to large users like Hollywood studios. Well be working on language that seeks to protect small artists.



* IF THIS BILL IS PASSED EVERYTHING THAT ANYONE HAS EVER CREATED, WILL BE UP FOR GRABS. THE ONLY WAY TO STOP IT IS TO PAY FOR REGISTRATION, EVEN IF YOU HAVE ALREADY COPYRIGHTED. MEANING THAT ANYONE INCLUDING MAJOR CORPORATIONS CAN TAKE YOUR WORK AND USE FOR THEIR OWN GAIN........ LEAVING YOU PROFITLESS.... PLEASE WATCH THIS VIDEO AND OR LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW...AND GET ACTIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!


DO NOT LET THIS BILL PASS, IT IS SO SERIOUS FOR US TO STOP THIS PROCESS... SIGN THE PETITION, ANY AND EVERYTHING HELPS.






http://digg.com/business_finance/CORP...
Please Digg and go to the main website linked below if you want to help fight this bill.

http://capwiz.com/illustratorspartner...

Audio link to full interview here:

http://www.sellyourtvconceptnow.com/o...
Orphan Works
Or, How You May Lose All the Rights to Every Piece of Art You Have Ever Created!
On April 5th, 2008, I interviewed Brad Holland of the Illustrator's Partnership about the Orphan Works bill and how it affects every artist and photographer in the world.
YOU NEED TO LISTEN TO THIS because you are about to lose your copyright protection. Every one of you needs to stand up and be heard in order to protect what we have all created.
Please forward this information to every creative person and group you know. I give permission for this audio file to be copied and transferred and replayed so that everyone may learn about what is going on.


KEEP OUR RIGHTS ALVIE!!!!!!!!!!!!