Alistair Hood Photography Blog

Further info

http://www.epuk.org/News/936/mandelson-deb

This blog is usually all fluff and behind the scenes, but I cant help but mention this.

The Government is trying to pass a bill called the Digital Economy Bill, its basic idea is to allow places of learning and education, museums and the like, to make use of their collections where they are unable to qualify the copyright status due to them being very old or have complex ownership issues. This is fine no one is arguing about this and it all sounds like a good idea. The problem is that for some unfathomable reason another part to the bill allows full commercial usage of ANY image found on the internet if after a “reasonable attempt at locating the author” the author cannot be found calling such an image an “Orphan Work”.
There is nothing in the Bill that states what a, “reasonable attempt at locating the author”, is. As there is no way of permanently attaching the authorship to the image that is not easily stripped out, every image on the internet could be claimed to be a Orphan.
The copyright of the images that I take is an integral part of my livelihood, this could potentially remove that and any control I have over the use of my images. This is not good.

But this doesn’t just affect professional photographers, everyones pictures can be used by any commercial body who grabs them from ANYWHERE.
If you have ever taken a photograph and its now on the internet this effects you. Do you want to see your face selling hemorrhoid cream on a web banner ? Well that lovely thought could be true thanks to Orphan works.

The best analogy I have found is this.

“…it is very much like a law that would permit the Taking Without Owner’s Consent of a motorcar, provided the number-plate has somehow gone missing. “

There is a lot more succinct information here

http://copyrightaction.com/category/articles/news

If you want to help to stop this write to your MP.