Disaster Awaits for Visual Artists - A Must Read

No thanks to our beloved Congress, we as visual artists just may kiss our careers goodbye.

Lisa Shaftel, Graphic Artists Guild National Advocacy Committee Chairperson has just alerted us to a grave possibility that Congress will add a proposed statute that is heavily slanted in favor of users.

Full report from the Copyright Office

Lisa's White Paper: http://198.173.235.195/gag_orphan_comment.pdf

Victor Perlman of the ASMP is traveling to Washington DC tomorrow to meet with the Copyright Office and members of Congress to alert them of the devastating effect this addition to our copyright law will have on the livelihoods of visual creators. Nancy Wolff of the Picture Archive Council of America has asked him to speak on the PACA's behalf, and I asked him to represent the Guild as well.

If you're a visual artist or art enthusiast, please get the letters in the mail ASAP, like this week. We will make a greater impact if the senators receive letters right away to reinforce Victor Perlman's visit. We believe Congress will push this legislation through fast, so don't wait.

Sample Letter Here
Senate Judiciary Committee Members

If you don't have the time to write to them all, write to:

The Chair, Senator Arlen Specter
Senators Hatch and Leahy

Because they ordered the Copyright Office to conduct this study, and to the senator from your home state- if one of them serves on this committee. That's 4 letters minimum.

Hard copy letters are most effective: they are tangible and impossible to ignore.
If you don't want to send snail mail, you may send a fax to each senator. Click on their names and it will take you to their homepage with their contact information.

Emails are least effective because
a) they have no tangible presence
b) a low-level staffer reads them and simply tallies a "yes" or "no" comment for a report to a higher staffer, and then deletes them, and
c) they are easy to ignore altogether.

Please, get writing!