Then you're going to love this.
From TechCrunch:
"Yesterday, President Bush signed into law the Pro-IP Act, which further criminalizes consumer behavior and appoints a new “Copyright Czar” to oversee enforcement of the new measures. The law triples damages in copyright infringement cases, allows the government to seize property used to usurp a company’s copyrights . . ."
(Read Entire Article on Techcrunch)
I've previously gone on record as thinking there's a lot of hype driving the fear of the Orphaned Works legislation. I've spoken with two attorneys and read the bills for myself and, at least so far, have not been able to see anything that threatens artists copyrights in the proposed Orphaned Works legislation. (Which did not pass this year but will probably be revived in the next legislative session).
However, this new copyright law goes way too far in the other direction. For crying out loud, I'm probably breaking the law for even quoting TechCrunch in this piece.
Sincerely,
Clint Watson
Software Craftsman and Art Fanatic
PS - As the old saying goes, "be careful what you ask for . . . . you just might get it."
Editor's Note: Are you confused by copyright laws? Do you wonder what you should be doing about copyright laws? Are you frozen to the point of inaction out of fear of having your concepts and images stolen? The business of art and knowledge of copyright laws go hand in hand, unfortunately many artists are actually operating under several myths that just won’t seem to go away. Polish up your understanding of how copyright laws affect your business by listening in on arts and entertainment attorney Kevin Houchin for these two 70-minute copyright teleseminars. This is legal advice that you'd normally pay $200-600 an hour for!
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