The Graphic Artists Guild, publisher of The Graphic Artists Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines, is a non-profit membership organization whose mission is to promote and protect the social, economic and professional interests of its members.  Members receive the book, a broad range of discounts on design-oriented businesses, and the Guild promotes its members to hundreds or art buyers throughout the United States and Canada.  Additionally, the Guild holds practical illustration and design business webinars throughout the year to ensure its members remain empowered to secure and maintain a strong professional career.

One of our most popular white papers, Copyright Basics and Common Misconceptions Debunked, is available for free download below. In it you will find answers to the most popular copyright-related questions.

Topics Include:

• Infringement
• Using Works without a Credit or Copyright Notice
• Fair Use
• The Internet, Web Sites and Blogs
• Public Domain and Public Access
• Use by Religions Entities, Educational Institutions and Non-Profit
• Organizations
• Liability for Copyright Infringement
• Willful Infringement
• Usage Issues: Who Owns What?
• Where to Report Infringement
• Registering Copyright

To receive a link where you may download a copy of may download a copy of may download a copy of Copyright Myths: Copyright Basics and Common Misconceptions Debunked, kindly provide your email address below.

The Graphic Artists Guild wholeheartedly supports this legislation and has supported all nine previous versions in the House and Senate since its first introduction in 1999. Please visit the Advocacy Alerts page on the Guild web site for information on how you can support this bill.

Thank you to everyone who contacted your Representatives in the House and then your Senators, as well as Senate Committee members regarding this tax issue. Your concerns have been heard and your voice does make a difference!

The totals were 314-112, 6 not voting with 100% of Republicans supporting, 60% of Democrats opposing.

Senator Mike Johanns introduced an identical bill in the Senate on January 25, 2011; S. 18: The “Small Business Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act.” This bill is being reviewed by the Senate Finance Committee.

It’s not known yet whether the Senate will vote on H.R. 4 or move S. 18 forward. But we should show support for this change in IRS reporting requirements for small businesses.

Take action in support of S. 18 now. Two things you can do:

1. Go to POPVOX and vote to support the bill.

2. Write to Senator Kent Conrad, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Taxation and IRS Oversight, and Ranking Member Senator Jon Kyl and urge the Committee to vote for S. 18.
Write Chairman Kent Conrad, ND
Write Ranking Member Jon Kyl, AZ

Even better, if your Senators are on the committee, write directly to them; a full list of the Senators on the committee are on our Advocacy Alerts page. You can also copy a letter which you can personalize and send to your Senator.

Copy a letter for you to personalize here.

Go to our Advocacy Alerts page for more information.

But aside from all the material possessions that will be wrapped, given, and White Elephant swapped, this is also the time to put down the mouse, turn off the light over your drawing table, and enjoy time with good friends and family

In whichever way you’re holiday travels take you, cherish the time you have with your loved ones. The work will still be there waiting for you to return when you get back to your office or studio. Enjoy the time you have with your close friends and family. Smile when your Aunt, whom you haven’t seen for 12 months gives you another Christmas sweater that will soon be put up on eBay. Laugh at the bad jokes told around the dinner table. Forget about the unpaid invoices for a few minutes and relish in the moist turkey, ham or other festive food that is served.

On behalf of the Guild, I wish you and yours a joyful and wondrous holiday season.
Haydn S. Adams

Graphic Artists Guild National President

This is affects every small business in the United States, including visual artists.

The new regulation will require small businesses to complete a 1099 form every year for every business or individual you make payments to -by cash or check- which total over $600 in a year. Transactions by credit or debit card are exempt because those purchases are already tracked by other means.

Small businesses would be required to send an IRS Form W-9 (request for taxpayer ID or social security number) to every business or vendor they purchase from, and produce an IRS 1099-Miscellaneous Income form for each of those businesses and vendors at tax time. If you don’t get their number and if you don’t file a 1099-Misc for each of them, you will have an additional withholding reporting requirement on your annual income tax. This will be a huge time and accounting burden for small businesses.

There are a lot of objections from all directions to this requirement, from different types of small business organizations. It also seems that the IRS changes its rules and reporting requirements all the time, irrespective of what was stated in legislation, so it’s anybody’s guess where this regulation will end up or if it will be enforced.

The Graphic Artists Guild sent the IRS a comment letter on Notice 2010-51 in September 2010.

Senator Mike Johanns (R-NE) has introduced S. 3578 the “Small Business Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act,” which has been referred to the Senate Committee on Finance. The Graphic Artists Guild urges graphic artists as small business owners to write to Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), the Chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, as well as Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND), the Chair of Subcommittee on Taxation, IRS Oversight, and Long-Term Growth, and let them know that you support S. 3578 and you want the Committee to move this legislation forward.

More information about this legislation at http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s111-3578

Senator Max Baucus’ web form email http://baucus.senate.gov/?p=contact

Senator Kent Conrad’s web form email https://conrad.senate.gov/contact/webform.cfm

Senator Kent Conrad’s Fax: (202) 224-7776

We’ve provided a sample letter for you to email or fax.

Dear Senator [Baucus] [Conrad],

I am a [insert discipline], a small business owner and handle my own business paperwork. The new Section 6041reporting requirement of the Internal Revenue Code would create a tremendous burden on my business, obligating me to spend additional unbillable administrative time on paperwork.

I typically spend at least $600 a year with a variety of stores and vendors, such as office supply stores, photocopy shops, art supply stores, electronics retailers, printers, fabricators, and many online vendors, as well as licensing fees for usage of other’s copyrighted work. Some purchases are made by credit or debit card, but many are also made by check or cash.

If the new Section 6041reporting requirement were enacted, these stores and vendors will also incur a huge increase in administrative labor hours to process the additional paperwork from small business customers like me. Those cost increases will be passed along to every consumer increasing the cost of goods and services. The IRS will need to increase in staff as well to process this additional paperwork, increasing operating costs that will likely be greater than the revenue received from this new rule. It just doesn’t make economic sense for anyone.

I support S. 3578 the Small Business Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act, which will repeal IRS Notice 2010-51 in The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010. I would like to see the Senate Committee on Finance move S. 3578 forward.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]

Member of the Graphic Artists Guild

Best Practices Workshop

The Software and Information Industry Association is hosting the Copyright Registration Best Practices Workshop in Washington, DC on May 5 from noon to 2:15 p.m. EST.  Attendance in person or via webcast is free. RSVP at https://www.siia.net/events/prereg.asp?eventid=1364

Speakers:

Ted Hirakawa, Assistant Chief, Literary Division, U.S. Copyright Office
William Briganti, Assistant Chief, Visual Arts Division, U.S. Copyright Office

Topics that will be addressed:

• Best practices within the context of changed registration procedures
• Current ways of submitting claims within the Office’s electronic registration system.
• Recent developments in copyright registration, especially those for works disseminated electronically, e.g., database claims, works published within websites, works fixed in newer formats.
• The speakers will also present a demonstration of the electronic system in which we’re now examining claims to copyright and creating permanent registration records.

Be proactive and learn how to protect yourself and your work by attending the seminar in person or via webinar.