Cartoon Group Blasts U.S. Senate for Passing Orphan Works Act

By: Dave Astor The Association of American Editorial Cartoonists (AAEC) has slammed the U.S. Senate for passing the Orphan Works Act on Friday.

"It seems that Congress is using the fiscal crisis as cover to pass this law, which will make it easier for copyright infringers to steal our work," said AAEC President Ted Rall, who's syndicated by Universal Press.

The AAEC -- which is working to convince the U.S. House of Representatives not to pass a similar bill -- issued a statement noting that the legislation "threatens the livelihoods of everyone who relies on copyrights for a living."

Explaining why it opposes the Senate's action, the AAEC offered this example: "A book publisher wanted to print an editorial cartoon in a history textbook. Currently a typical reprint fee for such use is $250. Under current copyright law, a publisher who gets caught using such work without permission would be liable for three times the standard rate.... A judge could order the books impounded. If the cartoonist had to hire a lawyer, a judge could make the violator pay his or her attorney's fees. These provisions deter most would-be copyright violators.

But under the Orphan Works Act, the statement continued, "the deterrent effect of punishment would all but vanish. If the cartoonist learned about the infringement and tracked down its perpetrator, all the publisher would have to do to avoid the triple penalty would be to claim that it engaged in an as-yet undefined 'good-faith search.'

"The aggrieved cartoonist would receive $250. He or she would have no way to remove the image from a book that he or she might find objectionable -- say, one that advocated reprehensible political views. There would be no compensation for legal fees, or the time and effort involved in tracking down lawbreakers. And that's assuming the artist were ever to learn about the illegal usage."

Also opposing the Orphan Works Act are at least 60 other artist and writer organizations.