copyright combat - for photographers outside britain

Copyright combat ahead.  Photographers around the  world  be aware. Beware.  The Brits want your "orphan" pics  free. Copyright Free.




The American Society of Media Photographers, Professional Photographers of America, National Press Photographers Association, Picture Archive Council of America, American Photographic Artists and Graphic Artists Guild have submitted a joint letter to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills in the UK to express their deep concerns over the provisions presented in Clause 68 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill.
The Bill, which was first introduced in the House of Commons in May, has been sponsored by Vince Cable and Lord Marland of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. It was written to "get rid of unnecessary bureaucracy" but presents a series of provision to allow the use of orphan works such as images that lack metadata and whose copyright owners cannot be found.

If the use of foreign works in the UK is directly or indirectly permitted by this Bill, a firestorm of international litigation is predicted," says the US-based organisations. "The executives of the six organizations warn that any individuals or businesses making use of foreign works under this Bill can expect to be sued promptly by the copyright holders."

They add: "ASMP, PPA, NPPA, PACA, APA and GAG believe that while a solution to the orphan works challenge must be found, this Bill permitting legalised infringement of foreign works and injecting foreign works into a UK Extended Collective Licensing scheme creates more problems than it solves. The organizations call on the UK Government to work with stakeholders to redraft the Bill in order to protect and maintain the exclusive rights of foreign copyright holders."

http://www.bjp-online.com/british-journal-of-photography/news/2226121/proposed-uk-copyright-changes-spark-worldwide-protests