Danny Abstract

As artists, it’s important to know what’s happening in the art community as well as the Internet art community. The copyright laws that have been put in place to protect intellectual properties are changing. The Orphan Works bill will change how an artist’s work is used in the world, opening up more possibilities for intellectual property to be stolen. There is a clear split between the people that think the Orphan Works bill is a great opportunity to fix copyright problems and people that think this is just making it easier for people to steal an artist’s work. Big industry giants, such as the MPAA and the RIAA are onboard with the Orphan Works bill. The industry little guys, such as illustrators and photographers however, are not so quick to agree to what this bill proposes. It can sometimes be hard, especially when the Internet is involved, for an artist to receive the credit he/she properly deserves. If passed, the Orphan Works bill could make things more difficult for artists to utilize the Internet to get their work out to a wider audience without the fear of someone stealing it from them. That is why all art posted on the Internet should be registered in a new system that legally binds artists to their work, ensuring that due credit is received.