Copyright law and artists
March 12, 2012 6:49 AM Subscribe
Interest in visual culture could scarcely be greater than it is today--save for the golden age of photography a 100 years ago (completely unfounded personal opinion). Sounds like artists should be thrilled, no?
However, legal protection for artists has problems, because the laws describing copyright protections pre-date the internet. And, according to Harvard Professor and technology writer Lawrence Lessing, "...70% of young people obtain digital information from illegal sources". This technology-change-copyright debate has in part made reputations for Lawrence Lessing
and BoingBoing contributer Cory Doctorow.
Today I read a CraigsList ad for a lawyer looking to make his reputation in a "pro bono" case calling for "expert witnesses"
to support several photographer's legal rights claims.
What makes an expert witness? In a recent March 5 decision a "legal specialist" (on legal matters--kinda recursive), among other things, must "...devote at least 30% of their practice to the specialized field."
Maybe these photographers should have kept their dues up to date with the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP). Their site has a prominent section on legal issues. However, a recent press release (1/18) from the ASMP presents their report in response to a "request [from] Congress to assess whether and how the current legal system hinders or prevents copyright owners from pursuing copyright infringement claims that have a relatively small economic value."--in short, its too damn expensive to go to court. Besides correcting my long standing "image of professional photographers based on David Hemmings driving a Rolls-Royce in Blow-Up", the ASMP's report PDF well describes the photographer's struggle to protect their rights.
What makes an expert witness? In a recent March 5 decision a "legal specialist" (on legal matters--kinda recursive), among other things, must "...devote at least 30% of their practice to the specialized field."
Maybe these photographers should have kept their dues up to date with the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP). Their site has a prominent section on legal issues. However, a recent press release (1/18) from the ASMP presents their report in response to a "request [from] Congress to assess whether and how the current legal system hinders or prevents copyright owners from pursuing copyright infringement claims that have a relatively small economic value."--in short, its too damn expensive to go to court. Besides correcting my long standing "image of professional photographers based on David Hemmings driving a Rolls-Royce in Blow-Up", the ASMP's report PDF well describes the photographer's struggle to protect their rights.
This post was deleted for the following reason: Hey, this seems like a lot of your personal opinion and a loose string of links sort of making up a mini-essay of your thoughts... which is really something more for a personal blog. -- taz
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posted by Joakim Ziegler at 7:00 AM on March 12, 2012