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General Stock Discussion / Re: Worrying legislation for UK microstockers.
« on: March 02, 2010, 20:11 »For the record: The Senate orphan works bill passed the Senate on Friday September 26, 2008
House Version: H.R. 5889
Yes, as I read it though, the House bill never made it through?
I don't know if either of these bills does what people are claiming or not, but the original intention wasn't to steal rights from all of us. The idea was that older "orphaned works" for historical purposes and works where an author could not be found after a diligent search, could be used. As it is now they are locked for all time, never to be seen or used again in the public eye.
I think most people here understand the orphaned works issue. The problem, specifically with the UK bill, is summed up perfectly in this letter from The Lords Select Committee on the Constitution to Peter Mandelson (Current UK Secretary of State):
Quote
"The Committee's view is that this is inappropriate, and that "orphan work" should be defined in the Bill. Likewise the following matters are left for you as Secretary of State and are not settled in the Bill: the treatment of royalties, the deduction of administrative costs, the period for which sums must be held for the copyright owner, and the subsequent treatment of those sums. The Committee notes that regulations made under this section are subject only to negative resolution procedure; and that the provisions contain no express duty on you as Secretary of State to consult appropriate stakeholders....it would greatly assist the Committee if you could explain why you consider it to be constitutionally appropriate for what appear to be such wide-ranging and open-ended rule-making powers to be conferred on you as Secretary of State."
All those details are not actually legislated in the bill. They are subject to change at any time by the current, or any subsequent, Secretary of State with only the negative resolution procedure in the way. That makes me uncomfortable.