There’s been a storm of activity on the bill that supposedly affects artists’ copyrights. Rather than re-spew opinions all over my internet, I thought I’d share a very well-written and thought-out piece on the subject by Meredith Patterson:
http://maradydd.livejournal.com/374886.html
Thanks Meredith, for doing what I suggested to AWN.com readers. Look up the facts before panicking.
We’re all creative artists, so let’s shake up popular opinion by being smart, too. Before writing your representative or signing a petition, learn the facts.
Imagine getting a bunch of letters from your constituents that are panicky and not applicable to factual, current circumstances. Would you want to pay attention or dismiss them as uninformed, flaky artist-types?
I am begging artists to think this through and not be so reactionary. There may be some action to take that will help improve the Orphan Works bill, but please take the time and effort to do your homework.
You can even follow active legislation at http://govtrack.com. They even have an RSS feed. I added it to my reader, it’s pretty cool.
After reviewing all the data available, I’m not personally convinced this is going to take away my ability to own my work. This is how I pay my rent, so if anyone’s gonna be concerned, it’s gonna be me. You know, I feel okay.
