Pretty simple!

ATTENTION ARTISTS

Copyright law is about to change 

For more than a year Congress has been holding hearings for the drafting of a brand new US Copyright Act. At its heart is the return of Orphan Works

What does this mean for artists? it means it will make it easier for infringers to steal artists works and harder for people who are making or trying to make a living out of art more difficult. This will effect every artist and all the artwork they have created, are creating, and will be created. Corporates, Big businesses, and publishers want this to pass to make money out off artists works without paying us artists for past, current, and future artwork. 

Basic Facts About The Law Being Proposed

 - “The Next Great Copyright Act” would replace all existing copyright law. 

 - It would void our Constitutional right to the exclusive control of our work.

 - It would “privilege” the public’s right to use our work.

   - It would “pressure” you to register your work with commercial registries.

   - It would “orphan” unregistered work.

   - It would make orphaned work available for commercial infringement by “good faith” infringers. 

 - It would allow others to alter your work and copyright these “derivative works” in their own names. 

 - It would affect all visual art: drawings, paintings, sketches, photos, etc.; past, present and future; published and unpublished; domestic and foreign. 

** Ways to stop this or preventing these changes from happening**

 > > > > > > >  DEADLINE IS NEXT THURSDAY: JULY 23, 2015 < < < < < <

 - share, reblog this post, spread it for other artists to take notice and action.

 - You can submit a letter on how this law can be an issue for you as an artist here.

 - Non-U.S. artists can email their letters to the attention of:

Catherine Rowland Senior Advisor to the Register of Copyrights U.S. Copyright Office [email protected]

More About the Issue

Example Letters

Articles about this - 1, 2, 3, 4

“Right now nobody has to understand copyright law because you’re protected by it, but under the law they are proposing, copyright law wont protect you anymore.”

- Brad Holland (Quote from the video - at 1:23:30)

PDFs via the official US Copyright website:

More information:

According to Will Terry, who uploaded the video:

Which may explain why Googling the Orphan Works and Next Great Copyright Act yields so little results. Please add any extra information if you have access to it, because I couldn’t find much.

I can’t do much as a foreigner, but I sure as hell can bring it to your attention.

Fuck

That embarrassing moment when you are caught breaking the law that you are proposing.

Lol, real scumbag!

Smooth move... 

Black March!

P.S: If you think this doesn’t concern you, Megaupload’s owners are from New Zealand, today (1.19.2012) they were deported to USE and will be prosecuted under a crime that DOESN’T EXIST IN THEIR COUNTRY, under a law that HAS NOT BEEN APPROVED YET. 

That’s….really fucking awful. 

It’ll be hard, but I’ll try and do this.

while I agree in principle, there’s no reason why we should stop supporting Indie media that’s not capable of supporting itself without us. we have the money trail. we know which companies are supporting sopa etc - we should be buying smart, not shutting down our media economy

^ is a really, really good point.

Then buy the indie stuff if you are really concerned about it and if you know that the money goes directly to them. The important part of this action is to affect the big lobbies that are trying to destroy the Internet, to show the economical downfall we, as consumers, can create.

I'm participating in Black March.

Will wait to see The Hunger Games if it might potentially make a difference.

TV networks would make so much more money and avoid 75% of piracy if they'd just let people IN EVERY COUNTRY watch shows online, with some advertising, immediately after they air.

THIS IS NOT COMPLICATED.

AGREED. xx 

DEAR WORLD, Internet service providers will begin spying on you!

This is not just the USA, this is also Europe, UK, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and more.

ACTA is another attempt by Hollywood and others to end privacy and freedom to protect their profits.

These well done videos provide an overview:

We got to stop this!

Poland is planning protests.

Europe, contact your representatives.

UK, sign this petition.

USA, reblog this post. Make new posts. Join the EFF. Stay involved.

They won’t give up, and neither will we.