So there is this video floating around youtube that a friend of mine showed me that showed truly spectacular uncited sensationalism. In it, it focuses on Fox News' coverage on Sen. Obama in the presidential race. And then it shows as other news organizations fall into line and continue to ignore the citation of the issues.
Yesterday I ran a test. I posted a truly sensational story. Cited an article about what sounded like artistic apocalypse. There was some good discussion. But there was something missing. Did anyone catch it? All this talk about a bill, act, whatever... but did anyone ever link to it? I hoped someone would catch me on my lack of citation. Well, that's okay. Want to read the exact wording yourself? You can find it right here. Now, here is what I read here.
The bad news is yes, SOME of the ass-hattery that the writer in the article I linked yesterday IS possible by this bill. However, the good news is this. The way I read it, there is actually far more protection for the artist than was being previously noted. Also, this was simply a matter in the congressional sub-committees. Just like thousands of other items every year.
However, if one were to follow the links to find "all congressional actions", or just follow the link here, we will see that this item is by no means "dead". It was, in fact, voted from sub-committee to full committee. That just means it is waiting for it's turn again. Now, I'm not sure that this will ever make it to bill, or if it does that it will become as horrible a visage as all the hype can sometimes make it sound. But I do know that this is a democracy. It is our responsibility to watch those items that effect us most and take a stand.
Showing posts with label art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label art. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Monday, April 14, 2008
I'm not an artist, but...
So I really want to thank a good friend of mine for bringing todays article to my attention. Thanks Rachel, you're always a good source of information for me.
So, as the title says, I don't feel that I'm an artist, but I have a lot of artist friends. They even get together on Friday nights to have "Art Night", a time to hang out, but also to encourage each other to continue to work on their art. So, reading this article did hit close to home. This is for them, this is for you. This is for everyone who doesn't think they are an artist, but are. This is for anyone who posts pictures of family vacations, posts on Deviant Art, or even doodles on a sketch book.
There is a law currently being attempted to be pushed through Congress. This bill would make it so that any piece of art that was not copyrighted would be considered "orphaned" and open to public domain. "But Hatter", you say, "That's how it already is. Good thing all my work is copyrighted as soon as I make it." Ah, my good friend, that brings us to the meat of the bill. This bill would require you to copyright with a registered agency ANY work of art that you have. If it isn't, if you didn't PAY for that copyright, you could easily see that picture of your family standing in front of the Grand Canyon show up in Wal-mart picture frames, used without your permission or payment to you in anyway, and no legal recourse. That art piece you threw up on Deviant Art to get an opinion on? Stolen as a cover for Time Magazine, and nothing you can do about it.
So, you might then say to me, "Okay, so what's the big deal, Hatter... that's the way of America, everything gets capitalized on sooner or later." Let me break down some of the more interesting points of the article. Let's say that you, as the average person, take 300 photos a year and upload it to Flickr. Let's say that you have to pay $5 per work to copyright it to a single agency. $1500 to keep those memories SAFE and YOURS. But what if there are three agencies set up? Or ten? Or a hundred. What if someone gets a hold of a piece of your work and files for copyright BEFORE you do... and your own work becomes illegal for you to use?
I know that some of you don't follow any of my links, but I implore, follow this one. Read the whole thing. Protect your rights and your art. If you aren't furious, you should be.
So, as the title says, I don't feel that I'm an artist, but I have a lot of artist friends. They even get together on Friday nights to have "Art Night", a time to hang out, but also to encourage each other to continue to work on their art. So, reading this article did hit close to home. This is for them, this is for you. This is for everyone who doesn't think they are an artist, but are. This is for anyone who posts pictures of family vacations, posts on Deviant Art, or even doodles on a sketch book.
There is a law currently being attempted to be pushed through Congress. This bill would make it so that any piece of art that was not copyrighted would be considered "orphaned" and open to public domain. "But Hatter", you say, "That's how it already is. Good thing all my work is copyrighted as soon as I make it." Ah, my good friend, that brings us to the meat of the bill. This bill would require you to copyright with a registered agency ANY work of art that you have. If it isn't, if you didn't PAY for that copyright, you could easily see that picture of your family standing in front of the Grand Canyon show up in Wal-mart picture frames, used without your permission or payment to you in anyway, and no legal recourse. That art piece you threw up on Deviant Art to get an opinion on? Stolen as a cover for Time Magazine, and nothing you can do about it.
So, you might then say to me, "Okay, so what's the big deal, Hatter... that's the way of America, everything gets capitalized on sooner or later." Let me break down some of the more interesting points of the article. Let's say that you, as the average person, take 300 photos a year and upload it to Flickr. Let's say that you have to pay $5 per work to copyright it to a single agency. $1500 to keep those memories SAFE and YOURS. But what if there are three agencies set up? Or ten? Or a hundred. What if someone gets a hold of a piece of your work and files for copyright BEFORE you do... and your own work becomes illegal for you to use?
I know that some of you don't follow any of my links, but I implore, follow this one. Read the whole thing. Protect your rights and your art. If you aren't furious, you should be.
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