Orphan Works Bill

Orphan Works Bill

It started simple enough. This was a bill introduced to help libraries and museums preserve disintegrating works by duplication when the copyright owner can not be found. After years of bouncing around congress, it has become a monster. Currently, copyright is granted the moment a work is created. This new Orphan Works legislation proposes a change in U.S. copyright that would (indirectly) require artists, illustrators, photographers, and any creative individual to actively maintain and defend their copyright by registering each and every work with privatised registrars. Failure to do so would leave everything you've ever created as an artist up for grabs by anyone who wanted to copy, reproduce, create derivative works for, or flat out steal your work. This only hurts the little guy and the large corporations love it. Get informed! A great explanation can be found right here.