We are going to lose copyrights!

[GEli]

Please show me exactly where in the legislation it proposes that you have to pay to register your copyrights.

You will have a hard time, because such a proposal doesn't exist. It speaks about adding one's works to a Copyright Register, which already exists, and which all registered copyrights are already a part of. You don't have to do this - it's only suggested because the minimum type of search needed before someone can yell "Orphaned work!" and use the works freely is a search of the Copyright Register. If you don't register and find your work being used under the guise of "orphaned," alerting the entity that you hold copyright on the work will still force them to pull the work and pay you fair market value for the time it was used, in the case of commercial usage.

I'm not even from the US, and all this crying over essentially nothing is ridiculous. Did anyone actually read the legislation, or was all this gleaned from poorly written opining by someone else who also hasn't read the legislation, whose friend who's buddies with a guy who knows a fellow who told him all about the evils of the "Big Business Wants to Steal Our Copyrights Oh No!" Bill?

Aside: Oh, and poor man's copyrighting is unnecessary and doesn't work anyways. You already hold the copyright when you create the work, and it's easy to fake the "Mail a letter to yourself" method (mail an open envelope/envelope sealed with paper clip, when it gets delivered to you put things in, the list goes on). It doesn't hold up in court as a method of proving copyright, so don't depend on it.

Once again, all together now, "Always go to the original source."

[cappy1927]

This is another Stupid senseless Governmental act that is taking a small but definate piece of our liberty.. With all that is happening in this country and around the world they cannot leave well enough alone.

[MikeC]

I wonder what this is going to do for images that are "shipped" offshore, especially via the internet. I'm currently covered by copyright rules in Australia, but does this mean that I need to shut down my Stock sideline, or register every potential stock image with the US Govt ?

If registration of each image is required, what about wedding clients who have hundreds of images ? What about the small shooting outfit that is barely covering it's overheads now ?

Anfd what about the weekend warrior who shoots a bunch of happy snaps and posts them to flickr or smugmug to show family & friends - do they need to register their photos to stop corporate users just grabbing them ?

This could become very confusing very quickly.

[HockeyFan]

I think the issue is that the government just wants another way to tax us.
The proposal is dangerous and is stealing the work of individuals, in my opinion. You shouldn't have to register and pay a fee with the government to protect your work any more than a carpenter, a plumber, etc do in order to get payment for their work. No artist should have to pay a fee to protect his work. He signs the work and that should be enough.

[jdepould]

Originally Posted by MikeC

I wonder what this is going to do for images that are "shipped" offshore, especially via the internet. I'm currently covered by copyright rules in Australia, but does this mean that I need to shut down my Stock sideline, or register every potential stock image with the US Govt ?

If registration of each image is required, what about wedding clients who have hundreds of images ? What about the small shooting outfit that is barely covering it's overheads now ?

Anfd what about the weekend warrior who shoots a bunch of happy snaps and posts them to flickr or smugmug to show family & friends - do they need to register their photos to stop corporate users just grabbing them ?

This could become very confusing very quickly.

US companies would still be bound by international copyright laws. The biggest problem is with countries where intellectual property rights are ignored--China comes to mind--you can complain and threaten lawsuits all you want, they'll just stare blankly.

[Major_Small]

I think we all need to realize that some kind of orphan act is needed. Allowing unlimited, perpetual copyrights is downright stupid. Do I think this version should be passed? I haven't looked into this one yet. I'm glad the previous version didn't. But some version does need to pass.

The aim is not to destroy legitimate copyrights. It's to free up works once their copyright has expired. The problem is, without any way to know whether a certain copyright is expired or not, some works could essentially stay copyrighted forever. Finding a line that satisfies both is a very tricky thing to do. Having a bunch of people jump and try to shut this thing down without fully understanding it is just hurts everybody involved.

[Matthias099]

Just for everyones information on this, here is the proposed legislation as of April 24th, 2008.

[jdepould]

Originally Posted by Major_Small

I think we all need to realize that some kind of orphan act is needed. Allowing unlimited, perpetual copyrights is downright stupid. Do I think this version should be passed? I haven't looked into this one yet. I'm glad the previous version didn't. But some version does need to pass.

The aim is not to destroy legitimate copyrights. It's to free up works once their copyright has expired. The problem is, without any way to know whether a certain copyright is expired or not, some works could essentially stay copyrighted forever. Finding a line that satisfies both is a very tricky thing to do. Having a bunch of people jump and try to shut this thing down without fully understanding it is just hurts everybody involved.

Copyrights aren't perpetual, and there's already a provision for orphaned works. New legislation isn't necessary.

[camerahappy]

Well that not right. photographs are the artist composition and should be given the same respect as any other artist.Also that would be totally lame being charged to register all the photographs that I have taken. It would nickel and dime the new business owners.

[johnboy]

Originally Posted by Matthias099

Just for everyones information on this, here is the proposed legislation as of April 24th, 2008.

Thank you.