If my title suggests an uplifting song about seduction and reassurance by the British rock group FREE, check out the deliberate comma.
Today's theme is urgency or immediacy.
For those who completed a novel during NaNoWriMo, this is great timing.
COMING TO A HEAD IN MARYLAND … COMPULSORY LICENSES FOR EBOOKS
Maryland would force authors to license their ebooks to libraries at a price that Maryland politicians --and those who fund them-- like. Compulsory licenses have previously only applied to songwriters, but times change with technology.
The MTP blog contains a quote from an anonymous librarian excoriating the Internet Archive. The quote is music to a copyright enthusiast's ears.
"You claim [the Archive is a] charitable organization. Charitable organizations provide money from their own funds to those in need or they collect donations of money or property, voluntarily offered by the original owners, to distribute to those in need. Taking from others despite their objections and offering the stolen material to those in need does not fall into the description of a charitable organization. It is, as has been pointed out, looting.
Your activity undermines the copyright system for your own benefit and in the financial interests of some of the wealthiest corporations in history. As has been said, the Internet Archive is not a public service but a pirate website. You are not here to help others- you are helping yourself to others’ property. It’s unfortunate that your supporters can’t admit this, or don’t realize it."
The quote is older, but entertainment value sometimes trumps other considerations.
The free-thinking bipartisan team of a Democrat from Florida and a Republican from California introduced the American Music Fairness Act (AMFA), H.R. 4130 to help ensure that songwriters are fairly compensated when terrestrial AM/FM radio stations play their music.
Other industrialized countries around the world make sure that their songwriters are paid, but owing to the current American laws, American songwriters cannot even be compensated by foreign countries when their work is exploited by foreign radio stations.
The CopyrightAlliance.org calls on all creators to contact their Representative in Congress to urge their support for the American Music Fairness Act. They've made it easy. Just click on this link, fill out the brief form, and the CopyrightAlliance's campaign will automatically contact your Congressional representatives with an email—which is pre-written for your convenience—requesting their support.
https://p2a.co/fUuhVCpKILL TWO BIRDS (to coin a phrase)
This is my adaptation of the Copyright Alliance's template, in which I also mentioned my dismay at the Maryland and alleged New York copyright grabs.
“I write to encourage you to support the American Music Fairness Act (AMFA), H.R. 4130, and give recognition to a terrestrial public performance right for sound recordings in the United States. Unlike the United States, most countries in the world require their AM/FM radio stations to compensate copyright owners of sound recordings when those works are played over the air. The USA does not do that, so, due to a system of reciprocity, this means that American copyright owners are prevented from being paid when their sound recordings are played over the air in other countries as well. The AMFA would fix this by establishing a terrestrial public performance right for sound recordings, and bringing U.S. copyright law in line with other industrialized nations around the world.
As an author, I know firsthand that the livelihoods of creative professionals depend on our right to be adequately and fairly compensated for our work. So, I am asking you today to show your support for creators like me by supporting and co-sponsoring the AMFA.
Moreover, the precedents and principles are important. It looks like the State of Maryland, and also perhaps the State of New York are proposing to create compulsory ebook licensing laws that would force unwilling authors to allow “libraries” to publish and distribute ebook copies of in-copyright works without the author having any input into terms or compensation.
Thank you for your assistance and support.”
Sometimes, one has to spit into the wind.
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All the best,
Rowena Cherry
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Yikes, this is scary.
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