On Sunday, December 27, 2020, the President signed into law a bill that includes the Copyright Alternative in Small Claims Enforcement Act (the “CASE Act”). This enactment marks the culmination of a decade-long effort by ASMP and others in the creative community to create a venue where photographers and other creators can protect their rights. Read on to learn about the CASE Act, and know that ASMP will be leading the way in helping this…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 28, 2020 Contact:Thomas Maddrey, ASMP General Counselmaddrey@asmp.org The CASE Act Is Now Law; ASMP Thanks Supporters New Forum for Small Copyright Disputes Helps All Photographers and Creators The multi-year quest by the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) and its allies in the creative community to create a small claims tribunal has reached a successful conclusion. Yesterday, the President signed into law the Copyright Alternative in Small-Claims Enforcement Act of 2020…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 21, 2020 Contact:Thomas Maddrey, ASMP General Counselmaddrey@asmp.org ASMP Celebrates the Congressional Passage of the CASE Act New Forum for Small Copyright Disputes Helps All Photographers and Creators Washington, D.C., December 21, 2020 – The American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) is delighted that the CASE Act has passed both the House and Senate chambers and is on its way to the President’s desk for signature into law. The Copyright Alternative in…
Cross-posted from Copyright Alliance [by Chris Castle] The CASE Act is a bipartisan copyright dispute resolution bill that is inches away from becoming the law of the land. Unfortunately, though, it has stalled in the Senate due to just one Senator. The bill calls for a “small claims” process staffed by U.S. Copyright Office attorneys for a limited category of infringement claims by creators, as well as an opportunity for a quick and inexpensive resolution…
Cross-posted from IP Watchdog [by David Newhoff] “When a bill has overwhelming bipartisan support, the public is right to demand that Senator Wyden explain, in very clear terms, why he alone believes he knows better.” Under Rule VII of the Rules of the Senate, bills can only move forward by unanimous consent. Consequently, a single senator may place a “hold” on a bill to keep it from passing. In principle, the rule exists to ensure…
Editor’s Note: In one of the hearings held yesterday, ASMP Member Jeff Sedlik testified on behalf of all the visual groups, including ASMP, that work together regularly as a coalition when doing our advocacy work. Cross-posted from IPWatchdog [by Eileen McDermott] In the first part of a two-panel hearing today on whether the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is working for the 21st Century, Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Intellectual Property Ranking Member Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) said…
On Wednesday, May 6 @ 6pm EST, ASMP General Counsel Thomas Maddrey will join the attorneys for photojournalist Stephanie Sinclair, the General Counsel and Deputy General Counsel for the National Press Photographers Association, and Robert Caplin from The Photo Brigade. Register here: bit.ly/adorama-PRO Together, this panel will examine the case of Sinclair v. Mashable (read more HERE) in which a District Court in the Southern District of New York held that by putting an image…
As we all know far too well, our copyright system does not work well for photographers, especially high volume photographers. Determining what work to register and when to do so is confusing. The registration process is archaic, costly and time-consuming. Determining whether and when work has been published as required by copyright law can be incredibly difficult and getting the determination wrong can result in the invalidation of a registration in a subsequent infringement action….
Cross-posted from The Illusion of More. [By David Newhoff] “As a practical matter Senator Wyden’s singular opposition to CASE waves a dismissive hand at his own constituents—and millions of Americans outside Oregon—who rely on copyright in their small-businesses the same way Portland’s coffee bars need a steady supply of beans. The CASE Act may seem like a small matter in the scheme of things; but for the creative entrepreneur trying to keep her work from being…