ATTENTION ARTISTS

Copyright law is about to change...
For more than a year Congress has been holding hearings for the drafting of a brand new US Copyright Act. At its heart is the return of Orphan Works.

What does this mean for artists? it means it will make it easier for infringers to steal artists works and harder for people who are making or trying to make a living out of art more difficult. This will effect every artist and all the artwork they have created, are creating, and will be created. Corporates, Big businesses, and publishers want this to pass to make money out off artists works without paying us artists for past, current, and future artwork.

The Canadian Government has already expressed interest in following suit and adapting their laws to match this proposal if this bill passes.

- Basic Facts About The Law Being Proposed -
“The Next Great Copyright Act” would replace all existing copyright law.

- It would void our Constitutional right to the exclusive control of our work.

-It would “privilege” the public’s right to use our work.

- It would “pressure” you to register your work with commercial registries. - It would “orphan” unregistered work.

- It would make orphaned work available for commercial infringement by “good faith” infringers. - It would allow others to alter your work and copyright these “derivative works” in their own names.

- It would affect all visual art: drawings, paintings, sketches, photos, etc.; past, present and future; published and unpublished; domestic and foreign.

Ways to stop this or preventing these changes from happening....

Share, reblog this post, spread it for other artists to take notice and action. - You can submit a letter on how this law can be an issue for you as an artist in the U.S.

> > > DEADLINE IS THIS THURSDAY: JULY 23, 2015 < < <

Non-U.S. artists can email their letters to the attention of:
Catherine Rowland
Senior Advisor to the Register of Copyrights
U.S. Copyright Office
crowland@loc.gov