The MBoard

http://mag.awn.com/?ltype=pageone&article_no=3605

There's a lot of information that I urge those of you who are artists or photographers, and even those of you who aren't, to read this article..

But the basics are, if this bill goes through:

- You will HAVE to register, and PAY, to own the copyright for your creation, if not it will be considered an orphaned work. Currently any work you create is yours, copyright and all, at creation, as YOU created it.

- An orphaned work is basically anything an artist creates that, through neglect or time, loses it's copyright and becomes Public Domain (I THINK).

- An Orphaned work can be used by ANYONE for profit, say a small fast food joint needs a mascot, a T-Shirt press needs a design, a large Art/Photo stock company wants to sell your image, etc. They can do that without paying you, the creator, if you do not pay to register for a copyright.

- This bill is backed by Corbis and Getty Images. They are large stock photo and stock art companies. They sell art and photos inexpensively.

- A similar bill is in the works in Europe.

If you disagree with this new law, write to your legislator.

So, it makes stealing art from people around you legal if they don't have a purchased copyright?

That's pretty lame. It pisses me off, actually.

Yeah, I strongly disagree. My dad does photography and I personally would be peeved if someone claimed my work without permission. That's a dumb bill.

This is federal correct?

No way it'll pass.

It'll never pass, I'm sure. But that shouldn't make you complacent.

In Canada we're having issues over bill C-10, a bill that was buried in some tax reform stuff and someone just found (luckily). Essentially if bill C-10 were passed then the government (which is currently run by the Conservative party, don't get me started on THEM) would have the right to dictate where Canadian tax credits go based on whatever they deem "contrary to public policy" aka morally reprehensible, officially making government censorship legal and basically killing the Canadian film industry losing billions. It's nearly impossible to make a film or TV show in Canada without those credits, and we'd lose billions in blockbuster movies that have to be made somewhere else (the big mainstream films are basically either made in Hollywood or British Columbia) and same thing for a lot of US and Canadian TV shows.

I don't think there's any way the Orphan Works Bill or Bill C-10 will pass now that people are aware of them, but... Yeah.

Dudes, this is old.
It's over and done with, it didn't pass.

and same thing for a lot of US and Canadian TV shows.

No kidding. The sheer amount of filming done in Vancouver alone is staggering, not to mention the animation.