As a photographer or other creator of original works, I’m sure you have heard of the Orphan Works Act currently in the Senate (Senate Bill: S.2913) and the House (House Bill: H.R.5889). Though both the House and Senate versions of the Orphan Works Act are still in the draft stages, These bills and others that attempt to take away the rights of copyright holders can be detrimental to the livelihoods of those of us who make a living off of licensing our creations.

Advertising Photographers of America said in a recent statement:

APA, in seeking to represent the best interests of its members, takes the position that the legislation offered in both bills — S.2913 and H.R.5889 — does not achieve the goal as we believe was originally intended, and instead provides a distinct road map for the infringement of contemporary works by living artists worldwide. If left unchanged, this legislation has the potential to destroy the businesses and livelihoods of thousands of photographers, other visual artists, as well as the collateral small businesses that serve the industry, and are dependent on, creators.

Tomorrow (Thursday, May 14th), the Senate will be marking up their version of the Orphan Works Act. Please take a look at the resources provided below (most of them copies from APA’s website), and speak out to your senators and representatives! Let them know that bills such as these can be detrimental to our industry.

APA’s Position Paper on Orphan Works Act
http://www.apanational.com/files/public/APA_on_Orphan_Works_Act_2008.pdf

Illustrators Partnership of America – Orphan Works Research Page
http://capwiz.com/illustratorspartnership/home/

Take a moment to write your senators & representatives with this SIMPLE Form:
http://capwiz.com/illustratorspartnership/issues/alert/?alertid=11303956

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[update]

Professional Photographers of America has released their take on the current Orphan Works legislation. Though I don’t necessarily agree, I’d like to show their take, see it here: http://www.ppa.com/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=815

SAA Orphan Works Blog:
http://orphanworks.blogspot.com/

About the author

Kevin Michael Reed
Kevin Michael Reed (Google+, Facebook) is a fashion & beauty photographer and producer/director based in New York City and Los Angeles, CA. He is the President/CEO of RedFOG Visual Media, a production company in New York City, and a partner in Passion of Photography, Inc, a company dedicated to teaching photographers and sharing our passion through charitable causes. Kevin has lectured and hosted workshops throughout the United States and the world teaching photographers the business and creative sides of photography. (Kevin's Fashion & Beauty Photography Portfolio can be seen here).

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