From: "John Celio" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Did any of you stop to think that maybe this is an important issue to people
like us? Maybe some of you out there, who live in the US and create
photographic (or other media) works that others might want to use, ought to
be concerned about copyright laws?
This isn't simply about politics, it's about protecting that which you have
created.
My read on it is it will affect artists, authors & photographers OUTSIDE
the U.S. more than it might affect U.S. photographers.
They're more likely to have works declared "orphan" because they didn't
previously pay to register them with some U.S. repository set up for
that purpose. That's one of the provisions of the act.
Any image you want to protect from infringement has to be previously
registered. If it's not registered, the infringer can claim immunity
from damages because he "believed" it was an orphan work. That "belief"
is all the defense he'll need under this act.
And, BTW, once the infringer has invoked his "I honestly believed it was
an orphan work" defense, not only can you not obtain damages, you won't
even be allowed to stop him infringing you copyright. Under the law,
he'll have a "fair use" right to continue using your work without giving
you a red cent.
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