Orphan Works and related Hoopla

Hoopla: Noun, informal.

1. 1. Boisterous, jovial commotion or excitement.
   2. Extravagant publicity: The new sedan was introduced to the public with much hoopla.
2. Talk intended to mislead or confuse.

I've been reading plenty of postings and commentary in the last couple of days about the potential Orphan Works legislation that first caught my attention back in March '08. Mark Simon's article over on AWN was definitely a "wake-up call", although maybe a bit shriller than most. I'm still not entirely sure what all is going on and what it could mean as regards to commercial and/or private copyrights for my artwork, or even how it could affect the way I post my artwork (and other images) on the internet; particularly since most of the legalize documentation is not something I read over and study on a daily basis (ha -- hardly). Is there a new bill regarding this up before the 2008 Congress? I've read both "yes" and "no". Most recently: hearings, definitely.

Whatever the case, I'm glad that it's finally on my radar, considering that the initial bill hearing occured back in 2005 and I'd never heard a peep about it till March of 2008.

If you're interested in checking out some of the additional resources that I've been reading in the last few days, here are some of the links (other links are also in my previous post):

1. Orphan Works Resource Page for Artists (IPA)
2. Six Misconceptions About Orphaned Works
3. Orphan Works blog
4. Bill Could Worsen Problem of Orphan Works
5. Status of 2008 Orphan Works legislation
6. Public Knowledge: Orphan Works articles
7. Flickr Strips Copyright Metadata
8. Countering the FUD about the "Orphan Works" copyright bill
9. Orphan Works Legislation: Round Two
10.Creative Commons sued for deception