Tom Richmond has posted an email he’s received from the Board of the Illustrators’ Partnership on the status of the Orphan Works bill and the implications on how the lawsuits against Google for it’s digitizing books will affect copyright law. In 2004, the Authors Guild and Association of American Publishers sued Google for copyright infringement. […]
I received an email last night saying that the House of Representatives was set to pass the Orphan Works Act. Not able to corroborate the announcement (that cited the Illustrators’ Partnership’s “DC Sources”) with the docket on the House of Reps web site, I opted not to post the news. The bill did not go […]
The Orphan Works Act of 2008 was delivered to a chaotic House of Representatives yesterday and was quickly “lost” in the House’s attempt to pass a $700 billion Wall Street bailout. According to Wired.com, lobbyists pushing for the bill concede that the House will not be able to take up the bill until after the […]
Ted Rall, president of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists (AAEC) has written an official response to the Senate passage of the Orphan Works Act. It is as follows:The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists (AAEC) is dismayed to learn that unscrupulous members of the U.S. Senate have taken advantage of Americans’ focus on the nation’s […]
I’ve received an e-mail from JP Trostle alerting me that the Senate has passed their version of the Orphan Works Act last night before the presidential debate. He opines that the timing of its passage was deliberate as the media and watchdog groups are distracted by the debates as well as the Wall Street economic […]
Mad Magazine cartoonist Tom Richmond has posted an excellent on the dangers of giving away one’s artwork without compensation. The interview is done in a response to a video interview with Sci-Fi writer Harlan Ellison. The point he is making is twofold. First, that professionals should not give away their work. Almost anybody who markets […]
© Nick Anderson. Used by permissionNick Anderson, Houston Chronicle editorial cartoonist, has written a blog post on the personal impact of the Orphan Works Act on artists if it is passed. And written from the artist’s perspective: “Why does this matter to me? Creative control and ownership: No one can use or change my work […]
The AAEC has issued an open letter to the U.S. House Subcommittee on the Courts opposing the current Orphan Works legislation that is working its way through congress. In a joint letter, Nick Anderson, President of The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists and Jeff Keane, President of the National Cartooning Society, they wrote, The Association […]
The National Cartoonists Society board and Stu Rees, NCS Attorney, have sent out the following email to its members asking them to oppose the Orphan Works Act of 2008 that is currently making its way through congress. Dear National Cartoonists Society Member: The NCS Board and Stu Rees (NCS legal counsel) are taking the unusual […]
MAD Magazine cartoonist Tom Richmond takes issue with an article written by Meredith L. Patterson entitled “Six Misconceptions About Orphaned Works” and why artist have no need to fear the 2008 version of the Orphan Works bill that is making its way through Congress. A week or two ago I found this sarcastic but reasonably […]
I’ve been following the Orphan Works Act and it looks like it’s making good speed through the House. Over a Cagle’s blog, he’s posted a stirring story from Michiko Stehrenberger, a cartoon illustrator and character designer who took on a big tobacco company who used her work illegally. Because of current copyright law, she was able to win, but if the Orphan Woks Act were in effect she would have never had a chance.
Over on Daryl Cagle’s blog, he’s posted a very stirring reminder of a current bill making its way through the House that makes it easier for companies to reprint an artists work without proper compensation if the artist can not be identified. As Daryl explains it: