What can you do to help protect your copyrights?
1. TAKE ACTION NOW … before it is too late. The House will most likely try to pass the Orphan Works bill during the lame duck session which will be held in November.
2. WRITE: If you haven’t already clicked on the link to send a letter to your representative, please do that now. USE THIS LINK:
http://capwiz.com/illustratorspartnership/issues/alert/?alertid=11980321
3. CALL members of the Judiciary Committee (see list in downloads section) and tell them the following:
- You oppose this controversial bill
- We do not need to have a copyright crisis on top of an economic crisis
- Ask them NOT TO ADOPT THE SENATE VERSION OF THE BILL
- Ask them NOT to pass the House’s version of the bill without a full and open hearing
4. SPREAD THE WORD—
- if you belong to an arts organization, please share this information with them.
- If you haven’t yet imposed on your friends, family, neighbors and colleagues to contact their representatives, NOW is the time to ask for their help. (If you have already asked, please do it again.)
To find phone numbers for your representatives, go to the Illustrators´ Partnership Orphan Works site:
5. SPEAK OUT about how the legislation will affect you and your business.
- Help raise public awareness by telling your friends, families and colleagues about the problems with the legislation.
- Ask them to contact their congressional leaders too.
- There are form letters for the "friends and families" of artists provided on the IPA’s CapWiz site:
http://capwiz.com/illustratorspartnership/issues/alert/?alertid=11389061
6. TELL your personal story.
- If you have a blog, post information on your blog.
- If you don’t have a blog ask a friend who does to post it, or put it in the comment card in the ’contact us’ section of the website and we will post it on our blog.
7. SHARE information about the bills with every arts organization you belong to.
- Ask if we can list their name as one of the groups opposing the legislation.
- If so, we need the name, description of the group/purpose, number of members, contact information and contact person.
- Again you can provide that information on a comment card in the ’contact us’ section of this website.
8. READ the bills and learn more about the legislation.
- Click here to read the House bill with our comments inserted:
- Click here to read the Senate bill with our comments inserted:
- If you want to track and read the legislation (HR 5889 and S.2913) off the Federal Government’s official website: http://thomas.loc.gov