There have been a number of accounts on the Internet and elsewhere reporting that passage of Orphan Works (OW) legislation is imminent. The Guild’s contacts on the Hill are extensive and constant. We have been assured by Congressional staff that no OW bill is imminent, nor is it expected in the near future. We will continue to monitor the situation and keep you posted. Read Full Story

Copyright Supporters Losing Badly  The website Economist.com is featuring a debate about the virtues, or lack thereof, regarding copyright law.  The most alarming part of the matter is that supporters of copyright protection are currently losing badly.  Let’s change that right now.  We’re encouraging the entire artistic community to visit the Economist site and vote on this vital issue that protects our economic interests.  Vote against the stated motion on the site that says, ... Read Full Story

Blog Post at Copyright Alliance Underscores Importance of Defending Copyright  Patrick Ross wrote a great piece at the Copyright Alliance blog about his artist daughter and her possible future career.  His main concern is that she always retains the right to do with her work as she desires, and we couldn’t agree more. Ross is the Executive Director of the Copyright Alliance.  The Graphic Artists Guild is a member of the Copyright Alliance, an organization that’s dedicated to the v... Read Full Story

Boucher Named Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet  Representative Rick Boucher (D-VA) was named chair of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet on January 8.  While we don’t know what impact this appointment will have for the creative community, Boucher has repeatedly sought copyright reform to the detriment of rights owners. Boucher sought to reduce a... Read Full Story

The year is winding down and so is this Congressional session.  Megan Gray, the Guild’s lobbyist, continued having meetings with key House and Senate offices and the different industries and associations that are part of the long list of Orphan Works stakeholders. These meetings continued our efforts to advocate on behalf of artists’ interests and to educate key people about the graphic arts industry and its vital role in the US economy.  We all know that the Senate version of the... Read Full Story

Legislation Has Three Possible Outcomes House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers, Jr. (D-MI) announced on November 12 the abolishment of the Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property.  Among the legislation the subcommittee was pursuing is Orphan Works (OW).  The move opens up almost any possibility for the future of OW except one - some law will most certainly pass.  The remainder of the potential outcomes fall into one of three categories:  H.R. 5889 that includes the exc... Read Full Story

Our Response The Orphan Works legislation has stirred up a storm of emotion, and the letter that follows is just one of many we’ve received. Please read the entirety of the letter we received and our response by following this link.    Dear Ms. Mistretta: Thank you for your post at Orphan Works News. Your letter tells a compelling story. Andrea, there’s no doubt that you did all the right things and got taken advantage of anyway. As a long-term commercial artist myself, I understand wh... Read Full Story

The latest version of S. 2913, the Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008, is posted below as an Adobe Acrobat file.  This version does have better requirements in the provisions regarding ownership search, but in the opinion of the Graphic Artists Guild, it does not go far enough.  The Guild refused to support this latest version, but it’s included here to keep our members informed. Lisa Shaftel, the Guild’s Advocacy Chair, and Megan E. Gray, the Guild’s lobbyist, were cont... Read Full Story

S. 2913 passed Senate Friday- tell the House to vote NO! The Senate passed S. 2913 -The Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008- by “hotline” on Friday, September 26, 2008. Representative Berman still intends to release the mark-up of his bill, HR 5889.  Either the House version of Orphan Works legislation, H.R. 5889, or the Senate version will become law.  There are no other possible outcomes. The Guild continues to support Rep. Berman’s House bill.  The Graphic Artists Guil... Read Full Story

Dear Guild Members and Colleagues, This morning I received a number of emails related to the horrors of the Orphan Works bill. As someone who has worked for the last three years to get the best possible outcome for this legislation, I can honestly say that I wish there would be no change to our copyright law. But that’s not the reality. The artistic community just has to get real about this Orphan Works scare. Orphan Works won’t put us out of business any more than the “all ... Read Full Story