Yes! 43

Thanks to all the hard work of the photographers of the Stop43 website and EPUK [the Editorial Photographers UK group] – not to mention the 20,000 odd letters written to MPs by professional and amateur photographers alike – the controversial clause on so-called ‘orphan works’ was taken out of the Digital Economy Bill as it was rammed through parliament last night.

“The UK Government wanted to introduce a law to allow anyone to use your photographs commercially, or in ways you might not like, without asking you first. THEY HAVE FAILED,” the campaign coordinators write.

“Orphan works are wrongly named, because they are not “orphan” at all. They remain our property. It is more proper to think of them as lost clones of our children, whom we still have with us. That is why we do not know that their clones are lost – our children have been cloned and the clones separated from us without our knowledge. In most cases, they were kidnapped. This central point has become lost.”

Unbelieveably, out of 646 MPs currently in the house, just 30 or so bothered to turn up for the late-night debate on this hugely complex bill as it was sneaked through in what’s known as ‘the wash up’ – a short period where unpopular legislation often pops up with minimal time for debate in the dog-days of a parliament. Parliament will be dissolved later this week and a general election held on May 6.

With turnouts like that, MPs have no business lecturing apathetic voters about the importance of getting out to the polling station on election day.

legal assaults – DEB update

hmmmm. Can’t say I feel that reassured, despite Mr Lammy’s protestations. If you haven’t already, please add your voice to the campaign against the UK government’s Digital Economy Bill. If it goes ahead and becomes law, the Bill could potentially put an end to street photography and eliminate a photographer’s copyright – and hence their ability to make a living off their work.

legal assaults

If you’re a UK photographer or a photography-lover and you haven’t yet got involved in the campaign against the Digital Economy Bill then you really should. If it goes ahead and becomes law, the Bill could potentially put an end to street photography and eliminate a photographer’s copyright – and hence their ability to make a living off their work. It’s well worth a read of the link above and a letter (or visit) to your MP. A week ago I contacted my MP Gerald Kaufman, who incidentally is a former journalist himself and used to chair the rather ferocious Culture, Media and Sport committee. I got a response from him today, promising to pass my concerns on to the  secretary of state.

I’m not one on the whole for badgering my elected member but this is the second time in as many months that I have written to – and heard back from – Kaufman. He has also promised to support efforts to reform the UK libel laws, which have unfortunately turned this country into a libel tourism destination and which threaten to stifle debate on important issues of science. Please sign the libel petition and add your names to both campaigns.