This is Devastatingly Important

[JBird]

http://mag.awn.com/index.php?ltype=C...rticle_no=3605

[Eviscerator]

And it's going to get stomped like the last time they attempted to pass it.

Why does it keep resurfacing?

[genderhazard]

You can blame the cut and paste internet most likely and the why pay when I can pirate mentality that so many have.

Heck JBirds Sig has 2 copyright violations.

Copyright protection is currently a joke. If it makes it to the internet, no artist has control over there work.

So Congress like so many other things is throwing up it's hands and basically saying, "Fuck it if you can't be bothered to register it, we can't be bothered to protect it."

Interesting to see what happens when someone adopts your orphen.

[jacques00]

This is nothing new; it is just that no one has realized it until now. It has been going on for some time now and it has been passed in one form or another. Please don't overreact to such issues when first heard about it. Instead, do some research and think rationally about it.

Copyrights are already being taken advantage of misinterpreted in many ways, so passing the bill just makes it a lot more easier for big corporations to step on the poor creative people. Artists already have it rough as it is. It's not like we need some kind of socialist ideology to help better our way of life.

Anyway, just my thoughts on it. No offense intended.

Yar, why don't ye be writin' to yer congress people, have them take care o' it.

[resiz3d]

Before everyone has a hissyfit, what they mean by "registering" your work is to simply sign it.

Thats it. Put your fucking name on your work. You don't need to fill out any paperwork, mail anything to the government or pay any money.

If it's on your website then your website should have your name and some contact information.

Doesn't matter anyways cuz this'll never pass.

[TrumanGrace]

I read it, and honestly, I think the internet as a whole is drastically overreacting.

Someone IM'ed me earlier to tell me about it. They basically said that it would allow anyone to find a piece of art, make sure it's not copyrighted, then claim it as their own.

After reading it, I had an entirely different take on it. All I saw that it allowed a person to do was take an orphaned, pre-existing work, copyrighted work, and make a derivative of it. An orphaned work was any work in which, after a reasonable effort, the owner could not be found. So really, I didn't see the huge uproar about it. It's been around for a little while and there wasn't a huge effect. From how I read it, it wouldn't allow someone to claim ownership, it would allow someone to do something based off of it, thus would still require a person's effort in it.

Maybe I'm reading it wrong, but I saw it as no big deal at all.

[Aeon_II]

Well, what most people are freaking out about is this. This Bill applies to ALL. This includes writings, and photography. Basically, if you have a picture of yourself on the internet, and I decide to include it in a magazine or some sorts, there is nothing to stop me from doing that and NOT getting sued.

Not very magical, is it?

[humble.fool]

AeonII: in NO WAY would this actually do what you say. That would only be allowed if a good faith attempt to find you had failed, and you could still come forward, say "uh, that's mine," and get monetary compensation. That is, if there was actually a bill about this before congress; there isn't.

READ THIS, for pete's sake: http://maradydd.livejournal.com/374886.html

[TrumanGrace]

Originally Posted by Aeon_II

Well, what most people are freaking out about is this. This Bill applies to ALL. This includes writings, and photography. Basically, if you have a picture of yourself on the internet, and I decide to include it in a magazine or some sorts, there is nothing to stop me from doing that and NOT getting sued.

No, you couldn't do that and if you did, you wouldn't be freed from being sued for any profits you made from it, as a drastic violation of my rights of self publication.

To anyone who thinks its worse, I direct you to the Berne convention.

Copyrights are automatic. You have them, and you have them for your life (+70 years). Orphaned works don't allow someone else it without permission. Research would help alleviate the fears, but that would require the average internet user to read, which I know isn't likely.

[ToboR]

Originally Posted by TrumanGrace

Copyrights are automatic. You have them, and you have them for your life (+70 years). Orphaned works don't allow someone else it without permission. Research would help alleviate the fears, but that would require the average internet user to read, which I know isn't likely.

Well said. This is a big overreaction. The proposal clearly states that you still have the rights to your work as long as you come forward and show that it's yours. In other words, there's going to be no difference between it and what is currently done now for art rippers.

Here's a direct link to the proposal and reports itself; always a good place to start: http://www.copyright.gov/orphan/

Another word of advice: When someone writes a column, the number of times they employ the caps lock key is usually indirectly proportionate to the amount of real research that person has performed and their credibility as a columnist.

[PrBlahBlahtson]

I do believe this gentleman puts it best.

And he knows nothing about protecting copyrighted works.

P.S. -- Yes, I now recall this panic hitting DeviantArt once before. And the bill got something like a 12-300+ vote. Which basically means it was laughed off the floor.