Автор: muter
Дата: 10-05-08 14:41
http://youtube.com/watch?v=CqBZd0cP5Yc
A това вчера го получих по емайла от National Press Photographers Association /NPPA/:
Announcement from NPPA Advocacy Committee
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Late last month, as NPPA leaders expected, a pair of “orphan works” bills appeared before Congress. Both are on a “fast track” for approval during this session and a mark-up of the House bill took place May 7. The bills would exempt from full protection under U.S. Copyright law millions of pictures – new and old, published and unpublished, even many previously registered with the U.S. Copyright Office.
“Orphan works” is a term coined to describe created works whose owners cannot be identified or located to ask permission before reproducing the works. A coalition of librarians, historians, educators, documentary filmmakers and anti-copyright crusaders support legislation they say would protect them when using such works in presentations and publications.
The House of Representatives bill (H.R. 5889) includes several improvements over the legislation of two years ago, which died without action. However, we believe an orphan works exemption runs counter to the best interests of photojournalists and photojournalism, as well undermining America’s Constitutional and international commitments to copyright.
Under copyright law, if persons or entities wish to use the created work of others, they must first obtain permission. Current copyright law provides statutory financial penalties and recovery of legal costs for copyright violations, available only if the copyright holder has registered the image and files suit in federal court. Taking action in federal court is an expensive process, nearly impossible to fund without such penalties and chance for recovery.
Both the Orphan Works Act of 2008, introduced in the House, and the Senate’s Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008 (S. 2913) would effectively allow photos and other created works to be used without prior permission if the actual copyright holder could not be identified and/or located. Under the proposed bills, the copyright holder could not collect statutory damages or attorney fees from an unauthorized user, so long as that user conducted a “reasonable search” to find the copyright holder and obtain permission.
While the orphan works bills might benefit archivists, historians, librarians, genealogists and other respected professionals, they go further than necessary to protect uses that are genuinely in the public interest, and their passage would imperil creators of original work, including most NPPA members.
The NPPA has for several years tracked orphan works proposals and partnered with 18 other organizations of photographers and illustrators to form the Imagery Alliance, with goals to fight orphan works exemptions and support copyright in general. Several associations in the Imagery Alliance, among them the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) and Professional Photographers of America (PPA), have staff attorneys and registered lobbyists who met with Congressional staff to discuss our collective concerns.
NPPA appreciates ASMP’s and PPA’s efforts on behalf of all visual artists. We respect that their lobbying led to significant improvements in the House bill. We also have taken into account concerns from ASMP and PPA leaders that proponents of orphan works outnumber us, are supported by the Copyright Office, have captured the ears of Congress and that this bill is likely the best we will see.
But we cannot in good conscience support this bill.
We recognize well the difficulties of managing rights for historical images. We believe a carefully and narrowly tailored expansion of the fair use exception to the copyright act would address the legitimate concerns of librarians, historians and educators. There is no reasonable argument to authorize infringements for commercial use. Unpublished works should also not be exempted – especially since publishing them without their creator’s permission might violate contract, privacy and other legal precepts. If the sharing of historical works is the true goal of orphan works legislation, there is certainly no reason at all to extend infringement exemptions to newly created works.
Orphan works is a complex issue, but it could prove significant to the future of photojournalism as a viable profession. We urge all photojournalists to include identifying metadata in their image files, continue to register their work regularly with the Copyright Office and keep their information up to date in photographers’ registries (such as NPPA’s Find-a-Photographer, PLUS and photographerregistry.com) to protect their images from being viewed as “orphans.”
We also encourage all members to carefully study and research this issue – from as many perspectives as possible – then share their conclusions and concerns with their Representatives and Senators. We believe the only possibility of defeating these proposals is through a grass-roots effort. Legislators and their staff take notice whenever they are contacted by their constituents. We cannot overstate the importance of members voicing their opinions. A significant response on this issue will carry far more weight with Congress than any professional group or lobby. We urge all members to participate in the process for this critical piece of legislation.
To help you contact your legislator please go to:
http://capwiz.com/illustratorspartnership/issues/alert/?alertid=11348596 where you will find a customizable letter and an easy to navigate form.
In the coming weeks, look for updated information and news on this subject. The following resources are available now:
NPPA report on introduction of 2008 orphan works bills:
http://www.nppa.org/news_and_events/news/2008/04/orphan01.html
John Harrington warns of orphan works in his Photo Business and News Forum blog:
http://photobusinessforum.blogspot.com/2008/05/orphan-works-2008-wolf-in-sheeps.html
The ASMP’s analysis, including chart comparing H.R. 5889 with 2006 bill:
http://www.asmp.org/news/spec2008/orphan_update.php
U.S. Copyright Office Orphan Works page, including links to its report, H.R. 5889 (the Orphan Works Act of 2008), S. 2913 (the Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008), Congressional testimony and more:
http://www.copyright.gov/orphan/
Editorial Photographers-UK blog post on U.S. orphan works:
http://www.epuk.org/Opinion/848/uncle-sams-thieves-charter
Lawrence Lessig – a supporter of “free” information – on orphan works:
http://lessig.org/blog/2007/02/copyright_policy_orphan_works.html
The Stock Artists Alliance detailed information on Orphan Works
http://www.stockartistsalliance.org/orphan.html
Public Knowledge – a proponent of orphan works exemptions – explains:
http://www.publicknowledge.org/issues/ow
Illustrator Partnership’s Orphan Works Resource Page:
http://www.illustratorspartnership.org/01_topics/article.php?searchterm=00185
Picture Licensing Universal System – a solution to prevent “orphans,” and more:
http://www.useplus.org
The Universal Photographic Digital Imaging Guidelines (includes image metadata info):
http://www.updig.org
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