By Jane Halperin, NANPA Advocacy Committee
NANPA fights for the rights of nature photographers on a wide range of legal issues and right now we are actively involved with an effort to reform the copyright system.NANPA belongs to a coalition of visual artists groups (the “Coalition) including the American Photographic Artists (APA), the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP), the Digital Media Licensing Association (DMLA), the Graphic Artists Guild (GAG), the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA), and the Professional Photographers of America (PPA). At the request of the Copyright Office and believing that copyright reform should be a top legislative priority, the Coalition drafted a white paper setting out what we believe to be the key provisions of an effective small claims tribunal for all of our members and for photographers in general.
View key components of the tribunal bill.
As a result of our efforts Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) recently introduced a bill in Congress to establish a small claims tribunal within the Copyright Office and Rep. Judy Chu (R-CA) will shortly be introducing her own version of legislation establishing a small claims tribunal.
NANPA, through the Coalition, has been working and will continue to work with both of these and other members of Congress to create small claims legislation that we hope will enable hundreds of thousands of small business visual artists to enforce their intellectual property rights by giving us a practical option within which to enforce those rights.
NANPA’s Advocacy Committee will keep you updated on the progress of this and other efforts to update and modernize the Copyright Office and to better protect your rights as photographers.
We will also let you know about any opportunities to learn more and when and how to help. Thank you for your support, as your membership makes all of NANPA’s advocacy efforts possible!
About the NANPA Advocacy Committee
Charge: Advocate for NANPA on legal, regulatory and other issues affecting the rights of nature photographers. Help promote NANPA as a voice for nature photographer rights to members and public at large. Educate nature photographers on issues and rights. For more information, contact NANPA at info@nanpa.org.
