orphan works bill

The Orphan Works Act of 2008 will endanger the rights of anyone who creates intel­lectual property.

It will expose your art to commercial infringement. It will include work from profes­sional paintings to family snap­shots. It will include published and unpub­lished work. It will include any image that resides or has ever resided on the internet. It will force you to register every picture you do with privately-​held commercial registries. It will make all unreg­is­tered works potential orphans.

This radical change to U.S. copy­right law will shift the burden of dili­gence from infringer’s to rights holders. It is wrong to give infringer’s the right to make money from your property without your knowledge or consent. You should not have to pay busi­nessmen to keep the work you’ve created.

The Orphan Works Act is an assault on national and inter­na­tional copy­right laws. It’s an assault on the property and privacy rights embodied in them.

Illustrators, photog­ra­phers, fine artists: let’s come together and act to keep Congress from orphaning our work.

• To learn more about the Orphan Works Bill, listen to this interview with Brad Holland
• Write your Representatives — It only takes One Minute
• Sign this petition
• Learn More