An intelligent article about copyright and"work for hire and politics by (surprise!) Courtney Love

[Ellis Vener <evphoto@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi,
I make my living by creating a form of intellectual properties
(photographs) and you might be a writer or a filmmaker or a musician or
writing software or none of the above but what ever you do for a living
or a sideline I urge you to read this article by Courtney Love about how
the record industry is using the legislative process in an attempt to
undermine the existing copyright ownership structure. Being able to own
and sell as you see fit the fruits of one's intellectual work will be
increasingly important in our culture. This right should not be allowed
to be legislated away,  hidden in a clause inserted by a congressional
aide. This is one area where artists are on the cutting edge of society
and unfortunately a bunch of ill informed Congressmen are the surgeons
wielding the hacksaw. If the RIAA gets away with this you can believe
that publishers will find this hidden loophole and exploit it next to
steal what is rightfully the creators work. A favorite songwriter of
mine (definitely not Courtney Love) once wrote a song called "Pharaoh"
in which he bemoans the fact that despite the progress of our age "tell
me brother don't you understand / we're all working for the Pharaoh" I
have no desire to be forced into that position.

>From what I have read I understand that after Congress passed the bill
Love is referring to, President Clinton vetoed it for an unrelated
reason. Still, if it was tried once it'll be tried again.

Here is the URL: http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2000/06/14/love/index.html

What to do if this prospect upsets you? Write your senators and
representatives and try to make it an issue in the presidential election.

Thank you for your time,

Ellis Vener

P.S. 
I also highly recommend the "Hank Greenburg" documentary that is now
playing in theaters around the US, it is emotionally moving and a lot of fun.