July 2008 Archives
I think that most readers of the Graphic Design Forum blogs are aware that the site is part of the Graphics.com Network. But it's less well understood that the Network is in turn a member of JupiterOnlineMedia, itself a division of Jupitermedia Corporation (don't worry, there will be no pop quiz). Another division of Jupitermedia is Jupiterimages, which has grown from consisting originally just of Clipart.com and Photos.com, to including a wealth of stock content sites, covering everything from royalty-free microstock, to high-end photos, illustrations, music, footage and Flash clips.
I admit that I haven't paid the slightest attention to the growing concern in the creative community about the Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act. But having just stumbled across a cogent explanation of what lies behind the Act and what the possible outcome could be for all visual artists, I'm now, as Ed Anger would say, "pig-biting mad." And why is that, dear reader? Because the underlying intent is nothing less than the creation of an administrative cloud of Kafkaesque proportions that would have the delightful effects of stifling creative visual expression of all kinds and putting in place an Orwellian monitoring program, all while shoveling a boatload of money into the pockets of nebulous private enterprises. Hey, that's three literary references in one paragraph!
