By: Dave Astor The Orphan Works Act has at least temporarily died in the U.S. House of Representatives.
"We don't get to take a victory lap very often," said Ted Rall, president of the Association of American Editorial Cartoonists -- which had
blasted the U.S. Senate for passing the bill last Friday. "This victory is at least partly attributable to the combined efforts of the creative people who raised their voices against this attempt to dilute copyright protections on which we rely for an income."
Rall, a Universal Press Syndicate cartoonist, did add: "It's too much to hope that Google, Microsoft, and other companies lobbying for this bill won't try again." That might happen after next month's elections.
The Senate passed the measure Friday while the attention of most people was focused on the financial-bailout proposal. The legislation was then sent to the House.
An explanation of the Orphan Works Act -- which has also been opposed by the National Cartoonists Society and about 60 other artist and writer organizations -- is in the Monday E&P story linked above.
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