Does anyone know the status of the Orphan Works Bill?

[Razvan-Sedekiah]

QUESTION:
Does anyone know the status of the Orphan Works Bill ?


I've been looking online and I can't seem to find anything recent to say if it passed or not. I know a lot of big companies are probably not going to let this one go. So I'm wondering if some of you are more "in the know" than me on the subject and can enlighten me.

Sadly, I was just informed about this bill. =(
From everything I've read, I don't like it so far.


Mogster started a thread in 2007 about it that I just found, but I didn't want to get in trouble for necroposting.
This is what the start of the thread said:
Mind Your Business: You Will Lose All The Rights to Your Own
I've been reading this all over the place. and Its quite disconcerting.

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

[seven]

Last I heard it hasn't passed. They tried to sneak it in the same day they were trying to pass the save the economy bill under bush back in September I believe... it went through but then was ignored or pushed back because someone and I can't remember who said that no bill that didn't have anything to do with the economy would go through at that time. Don't you worry, those Devils will try to pass it again.

[grimdc13]

Basically it makes it so if you don't want to get screwed make sure you register with the copyright office everytime you create something? The copyright office needs money with registration fees?

Just checked..the link Raz no longer exisits.

Try this instead: as of 5/08 and october 8th 2008

http://www.publicknowledge.org/issues/ow

http://www.orphanworks.blogspot.com

As of June 17th 2009:

http://ipaorphanworks.blogspot.com/2009_06_01_archive.html


" US Copyright Register Marybeth Peters told Intellectual Property Watch that orphan works legislation is expected to be introduced within the next 10 days." that would have been June 27th.

"On July 11, 2008, we submitted those amendments to both the House and Senate Judiciary Committees."-Illustrator's partnership.

Right now taking place is the Obama's Healthcare reform bill before Congress goes on Vacation.

[Ksan]

They have been trying to get this one through since I was at least...lets see.....sophomore/junior in college? (was the first time I had heard of it)

No....I don't like it. Not one little bit.

[Wynn]

The biggest problem i see with this bill is that it doesn't give artists the ability to seek compensation and damages for infringed work. Nor does it give us the ability to stop anyone from using our work if they already tried to look for the copyright owner and they couldn't find them... even if you had already spent the money and registered your work with the copyright office and the numerous 3rd party registries the bill would create.

Seriously... imagine having to register every single drawing/render/whatever you create and not knowing if someone will still be able to steal your work.. lol.. I could see everyone that posts their work on forums like this and such watermarking their work with their name and number in bold across the image, completely taking away any chance of infringement by destroying the beauty of the work.

I quote the IPA..

"The Copyright Office has stated explicitly that failure of the artist to meet this nightmarish bureaucratic burden would result in his work automatically becoming an "orphan" and subject to legal infringement."


An orphan works bill could be useful and beneficial to society if written correctly but this current bill, both the senate and the house versions are written so broadly that it's hard to imagine it not being an overburden to artists everywhere.

[grimdc13]

Here here!! Your post was right on the nail.