Your copyrights are about to change {video}

This video was recorded by Will Terry with guest Brad Holland. The information below is information that Will has provided in the description of his podcast. Please watch the video to get a better understanding of what is at stake and then TAKE ACTION and send your letter. Read a previous Artist Alert here


Artists! There’s a good chance we’re going to lose the rights to our work unless we stop legislation that’s being proposed to congress. This has the potential to infect every country in the world. We need your help to stop this as soon as possible! Brad Holland is an expert in this new legislation and explains why artists worldwide will suffer if our current copyright law is replaced by the new proposals.

Submit your letter here!
http://copyright.gov/policy/visualwor…

Sample letters from other artists: http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Ar…

Illustrators’ Partnership Blog: http://ipaorphanworks.blogspot.com

IPA Artists Alert
http://conta.cc/1KvRTCR

To sign-up for IPA Artists Alert
http://visitor.constantcontact.com/ma…

Copyright Office page where comments must be submitted online:
http://copyright.gov/policy/visualwor…

4 articles written about this:

Trojan Horse: Orphan Works and the War on Authors
by Brad Holland
http://www.jbiocommunication.org/free…

Orphan Works Legislation—A Bad Deal for Artists
by Bruce Lehman, Esq.
http://www.jbiocommunication.org/free…

Perfect and Strengthen Your Copyrights
by Cynthia Turner
http://www.jbiocommunication.org/free…

Artists’ Rights are Human Rights
By Chris Castle
http://www.jbiocommunication.org/free…

VIDEO: An Evening with Bruce Lehman
Webcast presentation from Society of Illustrators (SI)
New York – February 21, 2008
Sponsored by ASIP And SI
Q & A about illustrators’ reprographic rights and their right to remuneration.
http://www.asip-repro.org/resources.html

Orphan Works Roundtable
Conducted by the Small Business Administration
Salmagundi Art Club, New York, NY
Initiated by the Illustrators’ Partnership of America, the Artists Rights Society and the Advertising Photographers of America, and conducted by Tom Sullivan, Director of the Office of Advocacy of the US Small Business Administration. This was the first effort to assess the economic impact of the Orphan Works Acts H.R. 5889 and S. 2913 on creators and small businesses. Seventeen distinguished panelists spoke, all freelance working artists and stakeholders who would be directly impacted by this proposed legislation. Six 3’x4’ exhibit panels demonstrated orphan work infringements.
Presenter Bio
Reactions
Quote
Video: https://vimeo.com/channels/artistsrights
Presenters submitted written statements to IPA after the meeting. We compiled these into notebooks and distributed 14 notebooks of SBA Orphan Works Roundtable statements to key members of the Senate and House Judiciary Committees.

Artists Alert: The Return of Orphan Works Part 2 – ARTISTS’ LETTERS

Two weeks ago, we warned that Congress is drafting a new US Copyright Act.

The new recommendations would resurrect the failed Orphan Works Act of 2008. But there are new proposals that go far beyond Orphan Works.

The Copyright Office says that these artists’ issues are also “ripe” for legislation: copyright small claims, resale royalties, and other forms of secondary licensing which most artists have never heard of.
Many of you have already written. We hope many more will do the same.

Therefore we’re asking all artists concerned with retaining the rights to their work to join us in writing.


The deadline is THURSDAY: July 23, 2015
American Artists can submit letters online to the Copyright Office HERE.

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

Read the Copyright Office Notice of Inquiry.
Read the 2015 Orphan Works and Mass Digitization Report.

Join us and send your letter TODAY!


Please write the Copyright Office

Because of our past opposition to orphan works legislation, the Copyright Office has issued a special Notice of Inquiry on Visual Works. In it, they acknowledge that visual artists face special problems in the marketplace and they’ve asked artists to respond to five questions:

  1. What are the most significant challenges related to monetizing and/or licensing photographs, graphic artworks, and/or illustrations?
  2. What are the most significant enforcement challenges for photographers, graphic artists, and/or illustrators?
  3. What are the most significant registration challenges for photographers, graphic artists, and/or illustrators?
  4. What are the most significant challenges or frustrations for those who wish to make legal use of photographs, graphic art works, and/or illustrations?
  5. What other issues or challenges should the Office be aware of regarding photographs, graphic artworks, and/or illustrations under the Copyright Act?

And we might suggest a 6th question of our own:
6. What are the most significant challenges artists would face if these new copyright proposals become law?

Since most artists have never written to lawmakers before, many of you have asked us for sample letters.

Eight artists have provided their letters to inspire you to write. The letters are poignant examples written respectfully by artists telling their own unique story about their experience and concerns:

Letter 1: Brad Holland’s, which is a very deep primer on these issues, and well worth reading, and adapting points as need be; he has written a legal article for the Columbia Law Journal, among other writings; “I’m writing to stress that for me, and for artists like me, copyright law is not an abstract legal issue. Our copyrights are our assets. Licensing them is how we make our livings.” Read more.

Letter 2: Ken Dubrowski, from the Boston area, who was one of the Founders of IPA; “As a freelance illustrator, I need to maintain revenue streams in order to make a living for my family. The resale of my past images is part of my day to day way of doing business.”  Read more.

Letter 3:  Keith Ferris, who is the founder of the Aviation Artists group; “My art is reasonably well known since it has served the advertising, editorial, public relations and historical documentation needs of the aerospace industry, publications, the military services and air and space museums for 68 years.” Read more.

Letter 4: “I am writing to you as an award winning professional illustrator of over 40 years whose work has appeared in many major publications, books and advertisements, both nationally and internationally.”
Read more.

Letter 5: “I have been a professional medical illustrator since 1975, and self-employed since 1981. During the course of my career, I have created thousands of illustrations…” Read more.

Letter 6: “Copyright is the basis of my income and ability to support my business. It is the only way I have to protect the accuracy and integrity of my work, and to negotiate an appropriate fee for re-licensing.” Read more.

Letter 7: “My specialty area is fetal development and women’s health illustration…The protection of these images is of utmost importance to my livelihood, and I have struggled to fight the rampant piracy of them, especially by political groups.” Read more.

Letter 8: Cynthia Turner, Co-President of ASIP, and deeply learned on copyright matters; her letter might also be adapted. “I am writing to ask that you create policy to protect visual authors and their exclusive rights, and support a sustainable environment for professional authorship. Read more.

Remember no one is asking you to write a legal brief. Copyright law is a business law, and the lawyers writing these laws know little or nothing about our business.

Let’s explain to them how the laws they’re writing will affect us.

– Brad Holland and Cynthia Turner for the Board of the Illustrators’ Partnership

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Convergence: 30th Anniversary Issue

Inside this issue of Convergence:

ASAI 30th Anniversary Conference, AIP 30 in Toronto

Last Year – Dallas Conference Notes

2015 President’s Letter

Anniversary Message from one of our co-founders

ASAI History at a Glance

People in Illustrations, Jen Mahoney

Vice President Greeting

Member at Large

AIA Convention

DOWNLOAD FULL ISSUE HERE

CFE Deadline: Architecture in Perspective 30 CASH PRIZES AWARDED

AIP 30 -CFE Ad- 550x300
American Society of Architectural Illustrators celebrates 30 years of excellence in architectural illustration. To commemorate this special occasion cash prizes will be awarded for some of the top recipients selected for the AIP 30 exhibition. See the website for more details. www.ASAI.org
Deadline for entries:
Professional Competition: Monday, January 12, 2015 at 5pm EST
Student Competition: Monday, February 9, 2015 at 5pm EST

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