7days7authors

orphaned works and their copyrights

I am sharing with you all an op-ed piece published in Speakerphone Magazine just a few days ago. The topic, the copyright of orphaned works, is actually quite important considering the world in which we live in today, with the Internet and the instant availability of different sorts of media such as pictures, music, and even pieces of literature. So, read it, think about it, and take it into consideration. - Jessica

Op/Ed for May 2008

“I’m a creative person. I tend to forget because I get so caught up with words, with knowledge, but there’s something about creative people.

I think it’s something people who aren’t probably can’t understand quite. Some envy it, some just don’t even realize what they are missing.

Well, those who envy it are trying to take their revenge.

Okay, maybe I’m starting to sound a little extreme. It’s not some spiteful stab from them. It’s an issue with the government, really.

Don’t quit reading because I said that. Usually I leave politics to people who are better informed than me and focus on my books, but this time I’m deviating for a good reason.

I’d never heard about orphan works before, but the concept is fairly simple. Something is an orphan work when it has a copyright and the copyright holder is difficult or impossible to contact.

Right now there is legislation in the works that would affect orphaned works. Actually, it would affect all art. At the moment, art doesn’t need to be registered for you to own the copyright. Right now, create it and you own it.

The picture in my profile here? Copyright goes to me because I took it. I never told anyone I took it, but that doesn’t change who it belongs to. The drawback to this seems to be that it’s hard to know who did what these days; there is a lot of art out there.

And, as Americans, we’re trying to find shortcuts. And some people are trying to make a buck off those shortcuts. If I sound cynical, it’s just because sometimes I am.

The legislation would require registration of a work to hold the copyright. Registration where? Oh, with these fine new registries that are an untested idea. Who owns these registries? They’re privately owned. That translates to profit.

And the people profiting aren’t going to be the artists. There would be a system to search registries. But even with a one or two percent fail rate, that’s still an awful lot of searches going awry and hurting the registered artist.

Every work would have to be registered. That adds up quickly; five dollars per picture and your standard roll of film might be better left undeveloped. If you factor in that there would be several registration companies run independently, well… That probably means registering the same thing at each business.

And from what I gather, it’s not just going to affect our future work. My picture there would be open game if this goes through. And why someone else wants to lay claim on a picture I took of myself I can’t imagine, but there is so much out there that people could take.

It’s vulture behavior and maybe I should have faith it won’t happen. But just because the majority of people would respect the common sense that it belongs to the creator doesn’t mean there aren’t going to be those who do register the work of others.

Look, I’m just the messenger. I have to try to spread awareness because this is such an important concern. Art isn’t just this little hobby, a distraction. Art is the heart of a culture, it’s the barometer of our societal context and if art’s in danger we can’t just pretend nothing is happening.

Write to your congressman, talk to your friends about it, read up on it places like here and don’t stand idly by while our light is being taken away.” - Brittany Holmgren