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Originally Posted by Early Riser Will, you don't seem to understand that there are people out there who make their living through the sale and reproduction of their images and that perhaps the only valuable aspect of their business that they can pass onto their Heirs, is the copyright to their images. Imagine how much money Ansel Adams image reproductions rights generate for his family and the AA trust. How would you like it if after you pass on, your own business and it's assets, that you spent a liftime building, would not go to your children but instead could be carted away for free by anyone walking in off the street. |
No, no, no, no... Although I can certainly understand the panic the first impression a very simplistic interpretation of this bill causes, it is much more complex than that.
http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/WOiss...rphanworks.htm
Read up and THEN see what you think.
This is an important bit of legislature that has been a long time coming for (among others) film archivists who want to preserve film titles that are still in copyright but the owner cannot be located after much searching. There are specific provisions that make the burden of proof that the author cannot be found, fall to the entity requesting the use. There is also a very specific path of recourse for the infringed-upon copyright holder to enact if they find someone using their copyrighted materials without a proper search.
I'm not saying it is perfect, but it has been well researched and much commentary has been made on and about it, so read up!
Frank W.