The year is winding down and so is this Congressional session.  Megan Gray, the Guild’s lobbyist, continued having meetings with key House and Senate offices and the different industries and associations that are part of the long list of Orphan Works stakeholders. These meetings continued our efforts to advocate on behalf of artists’ interests and to educate key people about the graphic arts industry and its vital role in the US economy.

Happy Holidays Greeting Card

We all know that the Senate version of the bill, which the Guild opposed, passed in September, but we were able to block the passage of that version in the House because of our insistence on a Notice of Use clause and the strategic decision on our part to back the House version based on the Notice of Use clause. We know that not everyone understands that decision, but if we had not done that, the Senate bill would have likely swept through the House with as little opposition as it encountered in the Senate itself.

As this session of Congress wound down, the House bill seemed to have stalled. The reasons for this are varied, including a preoccupation with the economic crisis the country is facing, and the fact that two other key stakeholders, both of whom are strongly in favor of the basic contours of the bill as it stands, have recently butted heads over a provision in the bill that doesn’t really affect visual artists one way or another. At the moment, this works in our favor.

Congress will be back in January (new session begins January 6). During this coming session, the Satellite Home Viewer Extension and Reauthorization Act, which is part of U.S. copyright law, is set to expire and is likely to be re-enacted. This creates an opportunity for lawmakers to attach an Orphan Works bill to another piece of legislation that is certain to move through both the Senate and the House in 2009. This is something we’ll be following closely.

We all know it’s not easy predicting what Congress will do next. Our previous posting, Current Status of Orphan Works, covers the most likely scenarios for Orphan Works in the coming year.  The various user groups that have been working to get Orphan Works enacted could very well turn their attention elsewhere. The current state of the legislation is much more watered down than it originally was when it was introduced, something I know is hard to fathom given the nature of the bill, and it may be at a point where some of the user groups may not have as much enthusiasm as they once did for it, especially if some of the remaining issues (which are not focused on visual artists) aren’t decided in favor of the user groups.

As the new Congress convenes, the Guild will remain actively involved with Orphan Works and we will continue to be consulted by the key Congressional offices well in advance of any developments.

See you in 2009, and thanks for reading. 

Tricia McKiernan

Executive Director