bchrisdesigns

Say "NO!" to the Orphan Works Act

I found out about this ludicrous proposed law on Red Bubble and wanted to let everyone else know what they can do about it! If you have not heard about the Orphan Works Act, then you should research it and speak out before it is too late (especially if you are an artist, writer, and/or musician)! No, this Act is not about displaced children or found animals. It revolves around works of art (including fine art, photography, writing, music, etc.) that are not registered with newly proposed agencies. ANY work not registered would be considered in the public domain. This is a dangerous concept and just goes to show how greedy and capitalistic our society, government, and big businesses have become.

According to GoPetition.com:

“If the Orphan Works legislation passes, you and I and all creatives will lose virtually all the rights to not only our future work but to everything we’ve created over the past 34 years, unless we register it with the new, untested and privately run (by the friends and cronies of the U.S. government) registries. Even then, there is no guarantee that someone wishing to steal your personal creations won’t successfully call your work an orphan work, and then legally use it for free.

In short, if Congress passes this law, YOU WILL LOSE THE RIGHT TO MAKE MONEY FROM YOUR OWN CREATIONS!”

We would be forced into a world where big business can bully us and use whatever they wanted and not be penalized for it. And, this law not only affects artists, writers, and musicians. It also affect the everyday consumer! If you are planning to get your the photographs of your cousin’s wedding developed at a Wal-Mart or other big box retailer, then you better be prepared to get every image copyrighted or you may just end up seeing them on Wal-Mart’s billboards! Gone would be the days of having rights the minute you create something. Now, if you don’t pay to protect it, then it is like no one created the image and it is up for grabs! Who wants to live in this kind of world other than greedy politicians and businesses? And, it does not surprise me that this has all happened under the Bush administration. Who were the idiots that voted for him and thought he would do us some good? Well, seems like the joke’s on YOU!

In an April 10th article in Animation World Magazine, award-winning animation producer/director and speaker, Mark Simon, writes:

“It is currently against international law to coerce people to register their work for copyright because there are so many inherent problems with it. But because big business can push through laws in the United States, our country is about to break with the rest of the world, again, and take your rights away.

With the tens of millions of photos and pieces of artwork created each year, the bounty for forcing everyone to pay a registration fee would be enormous. We lose our rights and our creations, and someone else makes money at our expense.

This includes every sketch, painting, photo, sculpture, drawing, video, song and every other type of creative endeavor. All of it is at risk!

If the Orphan Works legislation passes, you and I and all creatives will lose virtually all the rights to not only our future work but to everything we’ve created over the past 34 years, unless we register it with the new, untested and privately run (by the friends and cronies of the U.S. government) registries. Even then, there is no guarantee that someone wishing to steal your personal creations won’t successfully call your work an orphan work, and then legally use it for free.”

So, what can you do about it? Well educate yourself on the issues, write to your congress men and women, and sign as many petitions as your can. To get your started, check out this petition, which I have already signed: Say ‘NO!’ to the Orphan Works Act on GoPetition.com

Also, be sure to check out these resources for more information:

You can also find more information about the Orphan Works Act on Red Bubble:

stephaniek, 4 months ago

Thanks for the disturbing news and info!
Helen Bascom, 4 months ago

Thanks for bringing all these resources together in one entry. Well done.
Patricia Anne ..., 4 months ago

I don’t uselly let stuff like this in FAN FRENZY but this isan important issue so i will let it in.
Patricia Anne ..., 4 months ago

I don’t uselly let stuff like this in FAN FRENZY but this isan important issue so i will let it in.
Sally Omar, 4 months ago

Signed Petition….thank you so much…Sally xxoo
PhotogeniquE IPA, 4 months ago

does anyone know whether this affects countries outside of the USA?
Natella2020, 3 months ago

Also on Wandering Author’s journal Writer’s Concerns.
bchrisdesigns in reply to PhotogeniquE IPA’s comment, 3 months ago

yes it does. which is a shame.
bchrisdesigns in reply to Sally Omar’s comment, 3 months ago

thanks Sally! we need allw riters and artists to support this!
bchrisdesigns in reply to Patricia Anne McCarty’s comment, 3 months ago

Thanks Patricia! I usually don’t post my journals to every single group I am in…I usually only post them to thos groups whose themes it closely resembles. But, since this is about copyrights, I felt that ti affected everyone equally. Some groups did not allow it and most did! I am glad that you approved it, I am sure the more we speak out about this, the more aware some people will be regarding the issue because it affects us all! Much love!
bchrisdesigns in reply to Helen Bascom’s comment, 3 months ago

Thanks, Helen! And thanks for your your piece as well as it truly enlightened me!
bchrisdesigns in reply to stephaniek’s comment, 3 months ago

You’re welcome, stephaniek! Hope it helps!
bchrisdesigns in reply to Natella2020’s comment, 3 months ago

Thanks, Natella, I added it to the RB resources list at the end of my journal so others will know it is there! Thanks for the lookout! If anyone else finds more info. on RB about this and they link it here, I will be more than happy to add it to the growing list of resources! Cheers!
deliriousgirl, 3 months ago

Signed! I’m not really sure this will ever come to pass, I don’t see how it could actually, isn’t it just in the thinking about stages right now????
Pneuma, 2 months ago

I’m also against this! I have a post in one of my groups regarding this also

Say No to Orphan Works Thread @ Burst Anime and Manga
bchrisdesigns in reply to deliriousgirl’s comment, 2 months ago

I am hoping it will never pass!!!! It is good to sign it just in case, though. Hehehehe… :o)
bchrisdesigns in reply to Pneuma’s comment, 2 months ago

Thanks! I added this to the list in the posting! :o)
deliriousgirl, 2 months ago

Heyyyyyyyyyy, check this out, it’s a new place I’m trying to get some dialog on social issues started. It would be a good place to post the link to this and make more folks aware of it.
HERE
ToastedGhost, about 1 month ago

This is against UK present law and is an American backed attempt to yet again swindle the masses!
ToastedGhost, about 1 month ago

I signed the petition!
YOU DO IT TOO!
bchrisdesigns in reply to ToastedGhost’s comment, 25 days ago

But it is not backed by all Americans. Just the big corporations. Damn, them!
bchrisdesigns in reply to ToastedGhost’s comment, 25 days ago

Everyone should sign it!!!! I definitely agree!!! thanks! =]
ToastedGhost, 25 days ago

True I meant American big corporations
Shirley Hirst, 11 days ago

Thank you so much for the hard work you have done putting this together. It would be great if the WHOLE RED BUBBLE COMMUNITY could protest with one voice against it
ArtByDrew, 11 days ago

Thanks for all the heads up on this one. I signed the petition, and emailed one of my state senators requesting a written response. The other senator (Ron Wyden/Oregon – Dem) is currently hiding his contact information at the senate site (sends you in an endless loop), and the US Congress site is not currently allowing contact to any congressmen (stating their servers are currently overwhelmed) but I plan on trying again later this evening to verify it’s not just a ploy to hide behind.

I do have a great idea though! We artist need to come together to form our own copyright registration organization, which will allow artist to provide for the ‘diligent search’ provisions of the bill in the advent that the bill passes. By coming together to form a nonprofit for this purpose, we will be able to get funding to protect our intellectual property rights from the very same people that are now trying to rip us off.

Anyone else game? If so contact me at

artbydrew@yahoo.com