Orphan Works Bill (4/15/2008)

As several artists have noted already, there's a controversial bill pending in the US Congress (with similar legislation being considered in Europe and elsewhere) that potentially has serious consequences for artists of all kinds and their ability to exercise copyright. There is not much balanced debate on the subject to be found online, but one of the most galvanizing articles posted thus far is by Mark Simon at Animation World Network:

index.php?ltype=Columns&article_no=3605

An opposing viewpoint, also worth reading, is Six Misconceptions about Orphaned Works by Meredith Patterson. Remember, there are always at least two sides to everything.

Please research the matter of your own accord and make your own decision; but if you should decide to oppose the legislation, there are a couple of online petitions to which you can add your voice: one sponsored by DeviantArt and another based on the aforementioned AWN article.

There are hundreds if not thousands of active artists within this community, and we stand to add meaningfully to the debate if we choose to do so.

NOTE: A followup article at Firefox News puts all this into perspective; the gist is that there's really nothing to be worried about, despite the direness of the original AWN article's (misleading) language.

—Brian