edit: i am going to update the time stamp for a day or so, now that more explanations of this bill are in the comments section. i do believe trying to stop this legislature is important to the well-being and livelihood of all artists, not just visual creatives...
~sue




Please take the time to read the information below regarding the Orphan Works bill. I hope you will be inspired to protest the passing of this bill by contacting your local member of the House of Representatives. A link at the bottom of this page makes it easy to do!


From The Illustrators' Partnership Orphan Works Blog

SEPT 27 Yesterday, in a cynical move, the sponsors of the Senate Orphan Works Act passed their controversial bill by a controversial practice known as hotlining.

With lawmakers scrambling to raise 700 billion dollars to bail out businesses that are “too big to fail,” the Senate passed a bill that would force small copyright holders to subsidize big internet interests such as Google, which has already said it plans to use millions of the images this bill will orphan.

With the meltdown on Wall Street, this is no time for Congress to concentrate our nation’s copyright wealth in the hands of a few privately owned corporate databases. The contents of these databases would be more valuable than secure banking information. Yet this bill would compel creators to risk their own intellectual property to supply content to these corporate business models. That means it would be our assets at risk in the event of their failure or mismanagement.

As David Rhodes, President of the School of Visual Arts has said, the Orphan Works bill would socialize the expense of copyright protection while privatizing the profit of creative endeavors. Copyright owners neither want nor need this legislation. It will do great harm to small businesses. We already have a banking crisis. Congress should not lay the groundwork for a copyright crisis.

– Brad Holland and Cynthia Turner, for the Illustrators’ Partnership

NOW FOR PLAN B

We MUST try to stop the House Judiciary Committee from folding their bill (HR5889) and adopting the Senate version.

PLEASE EMAIL CONGRESS TODAY.
If you’ve done it before, do it again!

It takes only a minute to use our new special letter.
Click on the link below, enter your zip code, and take the next steps.
Thanks to all of you who heeded the call to action yesterday.

http://capwiz.com/illustratorspartnership/issues/alert/?alertid=11980321

Over 70 organizations oppose this bill, representing over half a million creators.
Illustrators, photographers, fine artists, songwriters, musicians, and countless licensing firms all believe this bill will harm their small businesses. The Illustrators Partnership Capwiz site is open to professional creators and any member of the image-making public.

Ya. Like that.
All I know for sure is doodling is good medicine
Blood pressure lowering
Calming. Centering.
Om… Om… Om…

Ya. Like that.

 ~suedoodles~

The past few days I have enjoyed walking through the neighborhoods witnessing the change of color. Even though our autumn leaves are not as brilliant as what you might see in the Midwest or New England, coming upon the maples overhanging the boulevards with the sun shining through their leaves is simply breathtaking. Cherry trees that earlier displayed sweet pink flowers now vibrate with red and gold foliage. Wise gingko shimmers yellow. And the pumpkin spiders hanging out in their exquisitely woven webs harken the approaching cooler nights.

I do love showing off the beauty of where I live.