MAINE - WhistleBlower

CONSUMER BEWARE: Loop-Loc of NY

2011-09-30T07:42:00.000-07:00

DO NOT EXPECT THAT LOOP LOC (POOL COVER) WILL EVER HONOR THEIR WARRANTY

I purchased a Loop-Loc pool cover for our new pool in 2001 (OR 2) because an elephant could walk on it!! AND it had a 12 year warranty to back up that hefty purchase price.

I hire a pool company professional to close my pool each year, as well as to open it.

This past spring the product was damaged. 3 springs broke which released one area of the cover, displacing the weight of the spring snow on top and caused rips on the corners of the stairs.

No worries, right? 12 year warranty!!!!! yay! nothing ever breaks while it's still in warranty :o) NOT!!

I emailed, sent photos of the damage.

I received a phone call from a rep who wanted to argue with me about the correct way to close a pool and didn't really want to repair it "because of it's age". I had to remind her that IT'S AGE was still within the warranty period and the damage was not caused by anything done incorrectly with it's use or maintenance.

I emailed again with options for replacement or repair. NO RESPONSE.

I have filed my BBB complaint, and posted on Facebook and here!

Thanks for reading.

CONSUMERS BEWARE!

Business Information

Business ID:	0000037612
Name:	Loop-Loc Ltd.
Address:	390 Motor Parkway
City:	Hauppauge
State/County:	NY
Zip/Postal Code:	11788
Business Phone Number:	(631) 582-2626

Amendment to the PayPal Student Account Agreement

2010-02-20T08:38:00.000-08:00

WHEN IS PAYPAL GOING TO HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR ANYTHING?
THIS IS ABSURD!!

Amendment to the PayPal Student Account Agreement

The following language is added to section 3.c (Parent Control):

x.: “Marketing Promotions. If the Parent Account has opted-in to receiving marketing notifications in its Account Profile, then we may send such notifications to the Child as well.”
The following language is added to section 3.d (Child Control):

x.: “Marketing Promotions. The Student may participate in marketing promotions or campaigns offered from time to time.”
The last paragraph of section 4 (Liability) will read:

“Any online agreements that are accepted by the Child, including terms and conditions of any promotion the Child participates in, are accepted by the Parent as if the Parent had taken the action. The Parent is responsible for educating the Child on internet safety.”

Supporting Videos on Youtube.com DISABLED!

2009-11-02T04:50:00.000-08:00

The government is trying to quiet you down and hide!!

Videos supporting corruption of the administration and exposure are disabled???

this is America! FREE SPEECH whether it supports your cause or not.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EAdl4XG0TU

Wake up America!!

2009-11-02T04:44:00.000-08:00

The U.S. Post Service was established in 1775. You have had 234 years to get it right and it is broke.
Social Security was established in 1935. You have had 74 years to get it right and it is broke.
Fannie Mae was established in 1938. You have had 71 years to get it right and it is broke.
War on Poverty started in 1964. You have had 45 years to get it right; $1 trillion of our money is confiscated each year and transferred to "the poor" and they only want more.
Medicare and Medicaid were established in 1965. You have had 44 years to get it right and they are broke.... Read More
Freddie Mac was established in 1970. You have had 39 years to get it right and it is broke.
The Department of Energy was created in 1977 to lessen our dependence on foreign oil. It has ballooned to 16,000 employees with a budget of $24 billion a year and we import more oil than ever before.. You had 32 years to get it right and it is an abysmal failure.

You have FAILED in every "government service" you have shoved down our throats while overspending our tax dollars

AND YOU WANT AMERICANS TO BELIEVE YOU CAN BE TRUSTED WITH A GOVERNMENT-RUN HEALTH CARE SYSTEM??

If you want to know part of what is REALLY going on look these names up:
Van Jones
Cass Sunstein
Robert Mcchesney (Nice video of Collins pinning him down on YouTube)... Read More
Mark Loyd... Read More
Those are or were some of Obama's Czars...
Did you ever notice that Liberal and Conservative seem to have converse meanings? Liberals are trying to take rights form people and Conservatives are trying to give them more. Think about it....
See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_on_Foreign_Relations
In more detail:
http://www.cfr.org/project/1369/international_institutions_and_global_governance.html (their own site)

The Government Can

2009-10-15T10:25:00.000-07:00

www.blogactionday.org

2009-10-15T05:01:00.001-07:00

www.blogactionday.org

Healthcare / Insurance

2009-10-15T04:05:00.001-07:00

My apologies for this brief post, I just wanted to plant the seed and get the thought out there........

The health care reform issue has become a big mess. We just can't agree, some want the socialist approach which has proven NOT to work in the countries that have adopted it and the others can't come up with a viable solution to help those who can't seem to help themselves.

The problems: people who are lazy or can't provide for themselves continue to receive hand outs for doing nothing. If you get welfare, you should have to participate in community service of some type. The solution is to help people GET OUT OF POVERTY, not give them a handout.

Health care is working for most, or at least those who have jobs, it's squeezing middle class, but most have choices. THE PROBLEM that has bought the health care system to where it is now, OVER PRICED AND LIMITED CHOICES lies with INSURANCE COMPANIES. We don't need health care reform, we need INSURANCE REFORM. All forms of insurance are shams. Executives continue to get huge annual bonuses, this industry gets RICH on the hardships of their clients. This is absolutely wrong!! ALL INSURANCE SHOULD BE NON PROFIT ONLY.

DO AWAY WITH FOR PROFIT INSURANCE.

HOME OWNERS
HEALTH CARE
AUTOMOBILE

ALL OF IT.

Obama for Change?

2009-10-14T12:02:00.000-07:00

Obama is a progressive socialist that believes in the redistribusion of wealth to gain equal outcomes for all americans. I do not want or need his kind of change. We need real conservatives (not bush) to get us out of this mess. Spend money on things I can not afford when I am in debt has never worked for me.

Quoting my friend, Terry Moore
Its funny how many people blame Bush. He didn't ask for 911. As a matter of fact it was planned on Clinton's watch. If you want to see somethig funny Google Olilver North trying to tell Al gore who Osama Bin Laden is and why he is so afraid of him years before 911. Its a gas to watch that moron Igore belittle then Lt. colonel Oliver North in... Read More front of Congress. And it was not Busch but Clinton that passed the law that forced banks to loan money to lowlife's that we knew were a high risk of not being able to pay there loans. We gave unearned credit to the poor, every man deserves a home, and see what they got us. How many trillion dollars of debt? Obama isn't fixing Bush's mistakes but his own parties screwups when Clinton was trying to socialize America. You deserve only what you are willing to work for. If you want welfare then get a trailer or appartment and shut up. If you want a home get out there and bust your butt and earn it. Thats the only way it works.

Here is where the economy started going down. http://gatewaypundit.blogspot.com/2008/09/bush-called-for-reform-of-fannie-mae.html
You must realize that they are the culprits behind the mortgage crisis.
In 2003, the Bush Administration attempted to create an agency to oversee Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The bill never made progress in Congress, facing sharp opposition by Democrats
Listen to this rhetoric: http://www.businessandmedia.org/printer/2008/20080924145932.aspx
I think we all have the chance to decide what we need to do.

Bush knew ALL about Obama. He was on their radar for a long time. Bush rules! "W"

Here is what the President said of himself. His own words.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BnLozS-TnM

On all accounts Iraq is looking like quite a success. I have no problem with ousting Hussien and spreading freedom. Bush and Iraq should be mentioned in the same sentence and congragulations to him. He freed a country and for less than 2,500 american lives. Bravo!!! How many did it take to free Europe?

Consumer Beware: Walmart!

2009-10-07T04:34:00.001-07:00

Consumer beware, those 4" prints I just got back from Walmart are NOT standard 4x6 and therefore do NOT fit nicely into my 4x6 frames! ARG!! (5 3/4")

Quoting Seth Godin's blog

2009-07-30T06:03:00.000-07:00

Seth's Blog

[You're getting this note because you subscribed to Seth Godin's blog.]

"All I do is work here"

Over the past few months, I've had quite a few interactions with several people who work at a (previously great) brand.

One person will email to ask me for a favor or a connection, and I'll point out that just yesterday, I got three emails, all spam, from three different people at the organization either selling me something irrelevant or sending me a press release I didn't ask for. And the unsubscribe button doesn't work. And I've unsubscribed ten times before. When I pointed this out, he said, "Oh, that's those guys. I'm not related to them, all I do is work here. If you don't like getting that stuff, you should take it up with them."

Then, a few days ago, I heard from someone in a different group at the same company, asking for help with a project she was working on. I explained that the last time I helped someone in her group with a project, I was misquoted, my time was wasted and they violated whatever trust we had. Susan said, and I'm quoting precisely the same line, "All I do is work here. They pay my salary, but I'm me, not them."

No, Susan, you are them.

The reason your brand is falling apart is because so many of your colleagues are saying the same thing, denying the same responsibility. Consumers don't believe (or care) that there are warrens and fiefdoms and monarchies within your company. All they know is that you leverage that brand name every day, as you have for decades, but now, instead of using that brand to polish your reputation as an individual, you're being forced to accept responsibility for the actions of others.

Do you really think someone who worked for Bernie Madoff will go far with this line? "I'm not Bernie, I just worked with him every day and took a great salary when times were good..." Not sure what the difference is. It's even worse in your case, because you know what's happening. You know, but you don't want to do anything about it.

If you're not proud of where you work, go work somewhere else. You don't get the benefit of the brand when it's hot without accepting the blame of the brand when it's wrong.

Chinese Imports: When will America Learn?

2009-04-12T03:30:00.001-07:00

When will America learn that cheaper is not better, more is not better and we must keep our demand for quality?

How many incidents have been reported regarding substandard and even POISONOUS Chinese import products? Most recently; deadly children's toys imported from China, how about the toothpaste and crayons?

Here's another one!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090412/ap_on_re_us/chinese_drywall

Smarten up American consumers! Less is more, buy American.

Creative Contests a Farce?

2009-04-07T07:28:00.000-07:00

Yes, I think so. More often than not.
Contests are designed as marketing tools to either sell lots of the product that is supposed to be used in the entries, to "celebrate" a grand opening or other event which will spread the buzz about a new site (providing free advertising and getting their site stats up.), product line or other, or to increase funds via the entry fees required. Maybe they just don't want to pay a designer and they need free booth samples for a convention, online gallery or show.

Some photography and art shows that are juried require enormous entry fees, some because they are non-profit and need to curb the expenses of prize moneys and paying a judge, etc. There may be other objectives, but those come to mind most quickly. DO YOUR HOMEWORK.

A sure sign of a farce is when entrants that didn't follow the rules are not disqualified. Maybe they have a large following either through blogging or celebrity and the site wants the buzzzzz for themselves. They may even win because they have the most friends/contacts to vote for them regardless of the quality of their entry or the creativity of the other entries. Of course, if the most popular person wins, then the site wins too because who isn't happy about winning something and the blogging will go on and on and on causing more hype.

Even those contests that are judged by judges ("blindly" ha ha) and not by public popularity can be a farce. Not all, but most and it seems to be rampant in the paper crafting industry. They might be looking for someone who will work for cheap, or already has a following to add to their company groupies.

Here's a "for instance": Paper crafting product line new release contest, you need to have the kit first and you are supposed to only use those products, yet I see so many entries, especially in the beading section that use actual beads and metal findings that the company does not produce. Yet they are there for you to vote!

http://cobecreative.wordpress.com/category/beading/

Terms of Enslavement: Your Photos Online!

2009-02-20T02:40:00.000-08:00

Most internet sites have Terms of Service (TOS) that give them rights to your images and content posted online.

Read More:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,496766,00.html

5 Men Convicted of Conspiracy to KILL Ft. Dix Soldiers

2008-12-22T15:51:00.000-08:00

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081222/ap_on_re_us/fort_dix_plot

I am just wondering WHY we still allow Muslims into this country?
Yes, it's a free country but COME ON. We need to make a stand.

It seems to be their life long mission and religion to infiltrate the USA and kill Americans, their only purpose really. It may take a 20 year plan, but their mission remains the same.

If you are a Muslim and this is not your mission, I'd love to hear from you and hear how you feel about WHY they continue to attack us, what is it going to take to get them to stop? Do you love living in the USA? Do you frequently visit your homeland? Why did you leave there and/or come here?

Are you a citizen? I personally feel to live here, you should pledge your allegiance to the USA.

Tired of double standards!

2008-12-06T09:25:00.000-08:00

You wouldn't be considered stupid or lacking confidence if you sought self-improvement through higher education.

You don't need to be fat to motivate yourself to a healthier lifestyle; eating right and start going to a gym, it's just another way to better yourself.

I have always been an "A" bra size and although I've reached my ideal weight through diet and exercize for all of my 5'4", at 120 lbs I had 7 inches of icky "belly skin" leftover from carrying my very large and heatlhy children.

Regardless of what others may think, these two issues have always been areas I've tried to improve on. I'm not vain and there's no midlife crisis. These have been constant life issues for me. I'm going through a divorce, 16 years with a man I thought loved me, taking care of him and our home, our children and more, it's time for change. It's my turn to do something good for me.

I recently had cosmetic surgery to correct these two problems. There was no other way for me to do it. The diet and exercise couldn't do it and actually made the "A" cups a smaller issue!

I have been recovering for about 4 weeks and just now starting to get out again. Of course when people ask "where have you been"? I tell them and I am aghast at how many people say "but you're so cute and tiny!" and tell me I have self-esteem issues! The thought of having surgery makes them consider me a "lesser" person! Ridiculous. People seek self-improvement all the time and if you have a problem with cosmetic surgery, well that's you're problem NOT mine.

I'm perfectly content and happy with my decision and the results.

I did this for ME, not to change the way others view me.

If you see me you won't even know anything is different.

I look exactly the same and I'm the same person, which was never lacking in confidence, talent or personality. But now my clothes fit me better, I don't need push up padded bras and support undergarments! Which brings me to another point.......... WHY is it OK to wear support garments to enhance your body, but not seek a more permanent solution? Ridiculous!

Get over it.

ORPHAN WORKS!

2008-10-03T03:37:00.000-07:00

FROM THE ILLUSTRATORS' PARTNERSHIP

THE HOUSE ORPHAN WORKS BILL (H.R. 5889)
IS MOVING IN THE HOUSE NOW

10.2.08

Phone, fax, email these Congressman immediately

DELAHUNT Phone (202) 225 3111 Fax (202) 225-5658
Phone: (617) 770-3700 Fax:
(617) 770-2984

CONYERS Phone: (202) 225-5126 Fax: (202) 225-0072
Phone: (313) 961-5670 Fax:
(313) 226-2085

NADLER Phone: (202) 225-5635 Fax: (202)
225-6923
Phone: (212) 367-7350 Fax:
(212) 367-7356

BERMAN Phone: (202) 225-4695 Fax: (202)
225-3196
Phone: (818) 994-7200 Fax:
(818) 994-1050

EXPRESS YOUR OUTRAGE AT THE WAY THIS IS BEING DONE

We've been getting assurances all day that the bill
was "dead for this year."

TELL THEM NOT TO PASS THIS ANTI-COPYRIGHT LAW

* UNDER COVER OF NIGHT
* UNDER COVER OF ECONOMIC CRISIS
* UNDER COVER OF ANOTHER TELEVISED DEBATE

TELL THEM THIS IS AN OUTRAGEOUS WAY TO RE-WRITE THE
COPYRIGHT LAWS OF THE UNITED STATES

- Brad Holland and Cynthia Turner, for the Board of
the Illustrators' Partnership

Please post or forward this message immediately to any
interested party.
____________ _________ _________ _________ _________
_________ ______

For news and information:
Illustrators' Partnership Orphan Works Blog:
http://ipaorphanwor ks.blogspot. com/

Over 75 organizations oppose this bill, representing
over half a million creators. Illustrators,
photographers, fine artists, songwriters, musicians,
and countless licensing firms all believe this bill
will harm their small businesses.

For The Art of Scrapbooking: See Me on HGTV!

2008-09-23T10:06:00.000-07:00

For The Art of Scrapbooking: See Me on HGTV!

Go Army!

2008-09-22T03:14:00.000-07:00

I never saw this...wonder why the media only reports the bad stuff...

The information below will help explain the commitment to democracy which is alive today in the hearts of our troops and most Americans. This commitment is what actually drives troop strength.

If you visit those places around the world which do have and those which do NOT have democratic governments, you will begin to understand why it often falls to the United States and our military to make a difference...... because we understand the difference.

Largest Re-enlistment Ceremony - Ever
I'm sure you already know about this. It was shown over and over on TV, right?
OK, so maybe it wasn't shown over and over, but surely it was shown on TV at least one time, wasn't it ?

This was the largest re-enlistment ceremony ever held in military history. The ceremony was held on the 4th of July, 2008 at Al Faw Palace, Baghdad , Iraq . General David Petraeus officiated. This amazing story was ignored by the 'mainstream' media.
For those who have been in the Al Faw Palace, you'll have a better appreciation of the number of people crammed around the rotunda supporting the re-enlisting soldiers.

American men and women volunteering to stay longer in Iraq, so that when we leave, the new democracy will have a chance of surviving, is the exact opposite of what the media wants you to think about Iraq. If only a bomb had killed 5 civilians in a marketplace - now that's the kind of news the media is eager to tell you about.

A pizzeria in Chicago donated 2000 pizzas that were made and shipped to Baghdad , and were delivered on the 4th.

The media did report that 2000 pizzas were sent to Iraq on July 4th... The only part they left out of the report was the event for which the pizzas were sent.
I can't help but wonder what would the opinion of Americans be if they weren't getting such obviously biased 'news?'

Pass this on and we will do the work for the Media.

Looking A Gift Horse in the Mouth!!

2008-07-29T12:52:00.000-07:00

****Sourced from Yahoo New*********

Mon Jul 28, 2:31 PM ET

LAKE CITY, Ga. - More than 1,800 people showed up to help ABC's "Extreme Makeover" team demolish a family's decrepit home and replace it with a sparkling, four-bedroom mini-mansion in 2005.

Three years later, the reality TV show's most ambitious project at the time has become the latest victim of the foreclosure crisis.

After the Harper family used the two-story home as collateral for a $450,000 loan, it's set to go to auction on the steps of the Clayton County Courthouse Aug. 5. The couple did not return phone calls Monday, but told WSB-TV they received the loan for a construction business that failed.

The house was built in January 2005, after Atlanta-based Beazer Homes USA and ABC's "Extreme Makeover" demolished their old home and its faulty septic system. Within six days, construction crews and hoards of volunteers had completed work on the largest home that the television program had yet built.

The finished product was a four-bedroom house with decorative rock walls and a three-car garage that towered over ranch and split-level homes in their Clayton County neighborhood. The home's door opened into a lobby that featured four fireplaces, a solarium, a music room and a plush new office.

Materials and labor were donated for the home, which would have cost about $450,000 to build. Beazer Homes' employees and company partners also raised $250,000 in contributions for the family, including scholarships for the couple's three children and a home maintenance fund.

ABC said in a statement that it advises each family to consult a financial planner after they get their new home. "Ultimately, financial matters are personal, and we work to respect the privacy of the families," the network said.

Some of the volunteers who helped build the home were less than thrilled about the family's financial decisions.

"It's aggravating. It just makes you mad. You do that much work, and they just squander it," Lake City Mayor Willie Oswalt, who helped vault a massive beam into place in the Harper's living room, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Move America Forward

2008-06-26T10:46:00.001-07:00

Streaming Video by Ustream.TV

Average American Joe

2008-06-25T08:53:00.000-07:00

http://www.youtube.com/user/joeamericanus

JOB VACANCY; FUNDRAISE FOR MAINE ARTS

2008-05-22T09:30:00.001-07:00

JOB VACANCY
UMVA's MAINE MASTERS video series is seeking a person interested in Selling sponsorship for underwriting the broadcast of the series on WPME-TV, the Portland/Auburn television station which is broadcasting the first Saturday of every month at 10:30PM on a new program called OPEN AIR for the next eight months. This is a fundraising position that will be paid on a commission basis. The person doing this job needs to be knowledgable about the arts in general and the MAINE MASTERS series in particular (a full set of the series will be part of the pay!), motivated, articulate, and a believer in the positive role the MAINE MASTERS series is playing in educating the public about the arts of Maine. Please call or write Dick Kane for more details. 207-359-2320, kanelewis@aol.com

"Knock off" Merchandise is NOT OK EVER!

2008-05-18T11:37:00.000-07:00

OK, here is an eye opener and a good "vent" for me.

KNOCK OFF MERCHANDISE

An article to read: NYC CAMPAIGN SHOWS DARK SIDE OF COUNTERFEIT GOODS

It is just so wrong in every way.
1. The original designer/owner of this product OWNS it, it could be their livelihood, the way they feed their kids and support their family and it's NOT OK for someone to steal it and use it for their own selfish gain.
2. It supports child labor and abuse in third world countries.
3. The owner paid big $$ to copyright or patent their invention/idea and illegal copying violates these laws.

and so on!

I belong to a swap group that exchanges tangible goods for $$ value, but no money and a member has been offering knock off designer purses and I couldn't take it anymore so I contacted her, the group leader (who regularly enforces law-abiding practices), a few people who have grabbed them and told them that I felt it was bad practice to swap these items, it gives value to them and the industry is illegal etc. Here is her response:

Becky, these are purses my friend has given to me over the years and its not illegal...if i cant use all the purses i get i would rather have others enjoy them. If you have a problem and referring to me, you should be dealing with me. You are not obligated to grab anything like this and i have purchased from others also and paid the price that is much more affordable then the real things. I know many that have loved them

First, I can't believe that a friend would give another friend THAT many purses, she's listed like 30 of them, she has to be buying them for cheap and then trading them at a mark up. Second YES IT IS ILLEGAL. No matter which level you enter into the process of selling / buying / trading illegal goods, it is still ILLEGAL!! and "the price that is much more affordable then the real things." besides the improper English used there, because you WANT something and can't really afford it, doesn't make it OK to support this industry either! WAKE UP PEOPLE, you can't have everything and resorting to illegal ways to obtain it, doesn't make it right.

I may not be obligated to grab them, but I AM obligated to make people aware of what they are contributing to if they participate in this industry.

pay it forward.

OPPOSE ORPHAN WORKS ACTS

2008-05-02T09:49:00.001-07:00

It doesn't get easier than this. Go here to put your opinion in and/or
send it to a friend.

http://capwiz.com/illustratorspartnership/home/

Very well pre-written letters to choose from and submit to influence
the final bill. It only takes one minute and you don't have to look
up any contact info!

update & clarification Orphan Works Bill 2008

2008-04-29T04:42:00.000-07:00

As you probably know, last Friday both the Senate and House introduced variations of the same bill: The Shawn Bentley Orphan Acts of 2008 (S. 2913) and The Orphan Works Act of 2008 (H.R. 5889). If these bills pass, they will have devastating consequences for visual artists.

Having been involved in strategy sessions for the last few days with Brad Holland (Illustrator’s Partnership) and others, let me outline what you can do that would be helpful.

1. Write a letter to your congressional House leader and Senators stating your opposition to the bills. Send the letter both by e-mail and fax.

2. Help raise awareness about the potential consequences of this legislation, and ask everyone you know to write and send letters.

A number of groups which oppose this legislation are collaborating on creating a website which will enable you to e-mail your congressional leaders with the push of button. It will also contain sample letters. I will post the link as soon as the site is live.

The main reasons to object to this legislation are listed below. In case any of you want to start work on your letters before the sample letters are published, I’ve also included additional information to help you explain and clarify these objections.

1. It changes the 1976 U.S. Copyright Act (enacted in 1978), and makes it virtually impossible for artists to protect their work. It basically allows anyone to use a design without the copyright holder’s permission.

Under current law, you receive basic copyright protection even if you don’t register your work. Under Orphan Works law your work could be declared an orphan even if you have registered it. Congress, in enacting the Copyright Act of 1976, provided that copyright exists in the creation of any work that is copyrightable subject matter, regardless of whether or not the owner has performed any legal formalities, such as registration, or copyright notices, or taken any steps to protect or defend the copyright. Since 1978 (when it was enacted) many creators have relied upon the Copyright Act of 1976, and employed business practices based upon the protections it offered. The proposed Orphan Works Act of 2008 would have the effect of depriving certain creators of the ability to enforce their copyrights because they did not take steps that the Copyright Act of 1976 did not require them to take. In essence, it will give infringers the legal means to use a design without the copyright holder’s permission.

2. It requires artists to attempt to protect their work by registering it with a digital data base system (presumably for a fee, in addition to the copyright filing fee)—when no such system exists!

The proposed legislation is predicated on the establishment of private, profit making registries that would establish databases of digital versions of artworks and provide a place for infringers to try to locate the artist, BUT it will be enacted whether or not these data bases ever come into existence. This will relieve the infringer of liability if he simply attempts a search that cannot possibly be performed successfully.

In addition, the legislation places no limit on the number of these registries or the prices they would charge. The burden of paying for digitization and depositing the digitized copy with the private registry would presumably fall entirely on the artist, and even if an image is contained in the registry, as long as the infringer “looks” without finding it, the infringement is allowed. There is no liability imposed for the failure of a database to find an image registered in that database when it is searched, and no requirement that all available databases be searched, thus potentially requiring multiple registrations (and multiple registration fees). Also there are no safeguards to prevent any person or company from fraudulently registering work they do not own.

3. It eliminates statutory damages wherever an infringer can successfully claim an orphan works defense, thus eliminating the only tool the law provides to prevent deliberate infringement.

Current law almost certainly deters rampant infringement because the present remedies – damages of up to $150,000 per infringing article-- make infringement risky. By “limiting remedies,” the Orphan Works amendment will effectively create a no-fault license to infringe.

4. It allows for an infringer to create—and copyright—a derivative work from the original design.

Under current law, the right to create a derivative work is one of an artist’s exclusive rights. Section103(a) says a user can’t copyright a derivative image that he’s infringed. “Protection for a work employing preexisting material in which copyright subsists does not extend to any part of the work in which such material has been used unlawfully.” Under the proposed new bills, since the entirety of an infringed work can be included in a derivative use, then the copyright of the derivative will amount to a copyright of the original. This would be a de facto capture of new exclusive rights by the infringer. In other words, these bills allow infringers to make and copyright derivatives—even if the copyright holder to the original work objects.

If this legislation passes it would mean a return to pre-1976 U.S. Copyright Act when many artists' works fell into the public domain because they could not afford to comply with the formalities of registration as a condition of copyright protection. This violates the trust under which American artists have worked for the last 30 years, and nullifies our U.S. Copyright registrations. Further, it is against the Berne Convention, and invites retaliation from around the world because international artists' works are just as vulnerable to infringement under the U.S. Orphan Works Act.

Now let me recap the current situation:

The Senate has only given a few days for comments on the bill to be made; they are due Wednesday, April 30^th. The House has not specified a time-frame, and may give as little as 24 hours notice before closing the window for comments. There are several loosely allied groups which are opposing the legislation. These include The Illustrator’s Partnership (illustrators), The Artists’ Rights Society (fine artists), The Advertising Photographers of America (photographers), the Artists Foundation (fine artists), the Textile coalition (4 textile groups) and the Industry Coalition (whose members include the Craft and Hobby Association and George Little Management). During an OW strategy session Friday afternoon, Corrine Kevorkian, counsel for textile giant F. Shumacher, shared that the Textile coalition intends to recommend to the Senate that they adopt the House version. If this happens, the Textile industry will be spared the draconian impact of the Orphan Works Act because the House version exempts useful articles (see #1 below). She also intends to emphasize that the legislation shouldn’t take effect until the electronic data bases actually exist.

Although the bills are similar, there are some important differences to note. Both are devastating to all visual artists, but the House bill is somewhat less objectionable. Here are the three main differences:

1. The House bill includes an exception for useful articles, which (as far as I can determine) means that products (such as textiles and mugs) which are functional whether or not design has been applied to them, will not be impacted by this legislation.

2. The House bill also requires that manufacturers file their intention to use an image before they can use it --although it does not (a) specify a time period or method for doing so, (b) does not require an image to be included, only a verbal description (the Mona Lisa, for example could be described as “a dark-haired woman with an unusual expression” which would supposedly allow Leonardo to identify his work), and (c) does not require the filings to be readily searchable to allow an artist to monitor unauthorized uses of his/her work.

3. The House bill allows for a longer (possible) time period before implementation: January 1, 2013 vs. the Senate bill which uses the date of January 1, 2011. Unfortunately both bills are scheduled to take effect on the earlier of: “the date on which the Copyright Office certifies under section 3 at least 2 separate and independent searchable, comprehensive, electronic databases, that allow for searches of copyrighted works that are pictorial, graphic and sculptural works, and are available to the public through the Internet; or the January 1^st, 2011 or 2013 listed by the respective bills. This means that if there is no visually searchable database operable before the date(s) listed, the legislation goes into effect anyway!

If you would like additional information on the potential impact of this legislation, you can learn more by

a. Reviewing the submission to the House by the Illustrator’s Partnership http://www.illustratorspartnership.org/01_topics/article.php?searchterm=00261

b. Listening to Brad Holland’s informative webcast: http://www.sellyourtvconceptnow.com/orphan.html.

This is a very serious situation, and will require a concerted effort on all of our parts to stop it. I’m glad to see so much posting going on… and I believe that together we CAN make a difference. I’ll be in touch as soon as I have more information.

This may be forwarded in its entirety to any interested parties.