It seems there is a lot of fear going around about the bill that MAY (but unlikely) be passed in the United States.

Fist off, I don’t see it happening. Too many people are against it.

Organizations like ASMP (kind of like a photographers union) will never let it happen. So don’t start panicking.

The best way to fight your fear is to become more informed about what this bill really entails. much like Matt [link] and many others have done

Also to figure out what orphaned art really is. It is art that can’t be traced back to its original owner.

So if you’re afraid of your work being “orphaned” then water mark the hell out of it. Problem solved.
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Now as of photography stands.

Back in the day of film, the holder of the negative was the owner, it the digital it’s much harder to prove ownership.

Shoot raw format! I can’t stress this enough.
Those that shoot digital should shoot raw.
Not only do you have the better quality image, but in some legal cases you can use the raw file to prove you are the original owner of the image.



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Canadian copyright law info

Alright, if people were stressing before they should really take this into account. So many people don’t know this fact it scares me.

In Canada, the COMMISONER of the piece of art (in any format) is the OWNER of the copyright.


So say you live in America. Someone in Canada commissions a piece of fan-art of their favored anime character. They now own copyright to that image.

Copyright law is governed in the country where the art was commissioned.

Now I bet your asking yourself “how do I stop this from happening?”

It just so happens I have an answer to that question.
And that would be……………..

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Contracts!

Carefully constructing a contract will save your butt.

1. If you state in your contract that you own the copyright in defiantly then YOU keep the copyright no matter which country’s laws are governing the contract.

2. State in your contract where the law of the contract is to be governed. Eg. “This contract is to be governed under the Ontario court of law” (this really helps if your doing work for a client outside of your country)


I really hope this helps out all those people who are lost and confused about copyright laws.
If anyone has any questions, I will do my best to answer them.


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Stuff for Sale [link]


Gallery showing May 2008
Colourgentics
Toronto, Ontairo

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I support
&
in their never ending quest to keep DA free of art-theft and violations.

Peps:



Clubs & Organizations: