Originally posted January 2009 - Updated February 2022
Please Note: ConceptArt (from the original post) is no longer available, those links won't work.
Updated Information can be found here at Petapixel.com:
Orphan Works Copyright Law Being Considered Again in the US
Everything You Know About Copyright Is About To Change - Brad Holland
Here below is the original content I originally posted:
Recently, I received more mail on the subject of Orphan Works Legislation.
The body of the letter was actually the text from this website:
https://www.conceptart.org/forums/showthread.php?t=145485
And here is the video mentioned in the text: My answer to this would be:
Interesting, to a point. Understandably, everybody is up in arms about this.To get a better view, maybe check out this site: http://fairuse.stanford.edu/index.html and look under the tab: Legislation.
From there, you will find many useful links, articles and blogs regarding this subject.
These I found informative and interesting:
https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/20/opinion/20lessig.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=orphan+works&st=nyt
https://www.withersworldwide.com/news-publications/419/visual-art-america.aspx
https://www.opencongress.org/bill/110-s2913/show
http://www.opencongress.org/bill/110-h5889/show
My Quote: NO SOUP IS EATEN AS HOT AS IT IS COOKED. It won't fly without amendments.
Currently, there are many art and photo sites on the internet, and from what I read, I don't need a "paid for registry" (though some poor sap might be conned into that) - the existing ones (and any that may follow to make a quick buck) , in my opinion, rate on the same level as Vanity Galleries.
The (free) service ConceptArt speaks of is also served by many other sites (I belong to oodles of art and photo sites, besides my own website, and through any one of them searchers can get my contact easily, so none of my works are 'orphaned')............
WIKIPEDIA
