Add this to your calendar: Sunday May 11th is Mother’s Day.
Now if you forget you can’t tell your mom it was our fault. Not again.
Since you’ve remembered, you might as well get her something nice.
Of course your mom would say it’s the thought that counts, but after you’ve gotten her lavender bath oil three years in a row, it’s getting harder for her to say that without grinding her teeth.
We’re looking out for your mama’s dental work, so here’s a list of gifts that will secure your position as her favorite child.
Do not under any circumstances share this list with your siblings.
There has been a lot of discussion and a lot of fear among photographers regarding potential orphan works legislation.
A major problem with current copyright law is that it does not provide a way to use a creative work that has been abandoned (no entity can be found to claim ownership). The premise behind an “orphan works” addition to copyright law is that it would provide a means for anyone to make use of copyrighted material that no longer has an owner.
It works by limiting damages that can be claimed if the work truly falls under orphan works protection. If a person wants to use a work they must ask permission from the copyright holder just as they do now. Under the current law, if they can’t find the owner they are out of luck. With the orphan works bill in effect, they could use the work after conducting a diligent search and failing to find the copyright owner. Later, if the original owner shows up, he must be paid fair royalties for the use of the work. It does not limit or change .
This would be a huge boon to the public allowing new use of material that has lain dormant and forgotten for decades due to inflexible copyright restrictions. For example, you’d now be able to make reproductions of vintage family photos even though the original photographer cannot be located.
Obviously, a lot depends on how one defines “orphan” and “diligent search.” This has caused some among photographers and other artists who worry about corporations making blanket grabs of copyrighted material and claiming they conducted a search. This is mostly irrational fear. As written, that scenario would not pass the test of the “qualifying searches” section of the act which includes a court, following best practices as written by the copyright office, and that the search took place immediately prior to use. Of special note: the lack of any identifying information on the work is not sufficient to meet the standard. You really have to look.
The EU is studying the problem (link below). Canada actually has a similar orphan works bill in effect. Since 1990, they’ve issued a grand total of to use orphan works. This is hardly the blatant rights grab that some people fear.
You can read the announcement and text of the bills below. And for context I highly recommend reading the US Copyright Office report (linked below) which does a fantastic job of explaining all sides of this issue in plain language. Educate yourself before succumbing to the fear and doubt being cast on this.
Please share your opinion in the comments.
Survey: ?
Additional information:
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WASHINGTON (Thursday, April 24, 2008) – Leading members of the Senate and House Judiciary Committees today introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation to preserve so-called “orphan works” – works that may be protected by copyright, but whose owners cannot be found. Potential users of orphan works often fail to display or use such works out of concern that they may be found liable for statutory damages, amounting to as much as $150,000.
Legislation to address those concerns was introduced today in the Senate by Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), a senior member and former chairman of the panel, and in the House by Rep. Howard Berman (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property and Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee. The bill is co-sponsored in the House by Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.) and Rep. Howard Coble (R-N.C.) The legislation would enable users to exhibit orphan works if, after a thorough, documented search, the copyright owners are unable to be located. The legislation outlines the criteria for such a search, and provides for court review to determine if a search has been adequate and done in good faith. If the copyright owner later emerges, the user must pay reasonable compensation to the owner. The bill also includes provisions to further protect owners of these orphaned copyrights, should any user exhibit bad faith.
“This legislation will help bring together potential users and owners of orphan works,” said Leahy. “But also as important, it will allow the public to view works that may remain orphaned. A Vermonter can restore a family photograph from three generations ago, even when the original photographer is no longer available to give permission. With this bill, we can preserve important parts of our personal and national heritage, without giving a free license to infringe on established copyright protections.”
“There are thousands of artistic creations around the country that are effectively locked away and unavailable for the general public to enjoy because the owner of the work is unknown. Identifying the owner of a copyrighted work is difficult in many cases and represents a huge liability to those who would bring the work into the public domain without permission,” Hatch said. “This bill represents a commitment from Congress to unlock orphan works so the general public may once again enjoy them.”
“Too many valuable works are unused because their creators are unknown, and potential users fear excessive liability,” said Berman. “We must act to lower the legal barriers that keep these works from the public.”
“Millions of copyrighted works are effectively ‘locked up’ and unable to be enjoyed by the public due to our current copyright system,” said Smith. “As a result, investments in new works and expositions by libraries, museums and others are frequently not undertaken due to the possibility of lawsuits and large statutory damage awards. By placing reasonable limitations on liability, while ensuring that owners receive compensation for the use of their works, the bills introduced today will help reduce uncertainty and encourage creativity.”
Leahy, Hatch, Berman and Smith have longstanding interests in intellectual property issues, and have introduced copyright legislation in the 110th Congress, including a bipartisan, bicameral bill to reform the patent system.
Today’s Photo Friday entry is entitled: Juxtaposition
You can view other participants entries at:
this week we welcome
Today's Photo Friday had me once again searching the internet for anything that could give me some clue as to what Juxtaposition was. I had never before heard this word in my life, and this week it has come accross 3 times in different forms in my life. The first was this weeks challange, then it was in an email someone sent me, and then one of my students used it in a sentence. Weird. That is what I love about this meme, I seem to notice something new every week.
I discovered that Juxtaposition was basically an object occupying the same space. I found images in which juxtaposition was used. I was still quite confused. Than my husband, the master of any English word, showed me specifically what it meant and the bell went off. I got it. I finally understood.
I took the following three photos of my kids (my favorite models) at Christmas:
I decided to somehow make them all appear in the same photo. My first attempt had me cutting each person out of their photo and placing them on top of each other, The result is kinda cool, but you can't really see the kids:
The result is not something I really liked, so I tried something different and asked my husband if it was still juxtaposition. He grinned and said "absolutely". He liked it so much...
So, without further ado, here is my final juxtaposition photo of my three kids:
This week I get the honor to pick next weeks title. So, without further ado, next weeks Photo Friday will be: Religion
Lensbabies are Frankenstein-esque lenses that give you a frightening level of manual control over your photographs.
Spur your photographic creativity, and get effects you can’t get any other way!
Models for all major SLRs and DSLRs
~
(That’s us)
The Japanese have gotten hold of a time machine.
We knew it would happen sooner or later.
The weird thing is, this time machine only works on photographs. You feed it a sharp modern photo, and it comes back to you looking like it was taken sixty years ago.
Maybe it came from The Future! Or Outer Space! Or the Underground Lair of the Mole People (yikes)! We don’t know because, well, we can’t read Japanese.
All we know is, if you click “browse”, upload a photo, and then click on the blue button in the middle, the time machine magically oldifies your picture. It might also summon an army of cranky Mole People, we’re not sure.
Click if you must, just don’t say we didn’t warn you.
via
p.s. We’re looking for more ! a link if you’ve got one. is happy and cute, and rocks our socks.
p.p.s. If you want to get in your momma’s good books, score her one of our for Mother’s Day. Last day to order for rush delivery is Monday the 28th!
, a new photo book printing service from Album Printer Solutions, launched today.
Albelli features a photo book creation service that integrates with Photobucket and book creation software based on the Flash-based Adobe AIR platform which means it is compatible with Windows and Mac with Linux “on the way.” Is it just me or are there a ton of these do-it-yourself book printing services now? Shutterfly, Blurb, Qoop, Lulu, HP, MyPublisher, etc.
Shipping is free during the beta period. They offer books in portrait, landscape, and square formats with leather or linen covers.
I have not tried the service. If you are interested in giving it a go, leave a comment. Albelli has generously given us 20 coupon codes for a free medium landscape photo book or equivalent discount off a higher-priced book. All I ask is that after using the service you email me your impressions for publication here or write a review in the comments. Leave a valid email address so I can email you a discount code. Only one per person, please.
Lensbabies are Frankenstein-esque lenses that give you a frightening level of manual control over your photographs.
Spur your photographic creativity, and get effects you can’t get any other way!
Models for all major SLRs and DSLRs
~ Sponsor our Mother’s Day newsletter. (4/28) Discounts for first-time advertisers.
You know us, we’re not really the preachy type.
But hey, it’s Earth Day tomorrow, right? So we’ve gathered a few useful pointers on how to keep your photographic habits from smacking the environment around too much. We’re firmly anti-smacking.
If you want some help cleaning up your act, we got ya covered. If not, that’s cool too.
We like you either way.
p.s. It’s Photojojo Photo Month at Instructables. Add your photo-themed Instructable and win awesome stuff from the Photojojo store! !
“There’s a great deal of paranoia around but the police are on alert for anything that vaguely resembles terrorism. It’s difficult because the more professional a photographer, paradoxically, the more likely they are to be stopped or questioned. If people were using photos for terrorism purposes they would be using the smallest camera possible.”
In other anti-photographer news: .
Digital Photography School explains .
Photographer Rob Goldman organized a photo exhibition by and about the homeless while volunteering at a shelter. “I don’t propose to have any answers; that’s the beauty of art,” Goldman says. But perhaps the show, he adds, will “force people to look at their own questions and see if the solution can begin.”
There has been a lot of discussion and a lot of fear among photographers regarding potential orphan works legislation.
