Photographers: Tell the Librarian of Congress what you want in the next Register of Copyrights!

Photographers, you need to help yourself, your fellow photographers, writers, artists, composers and other creators of copyrightable content, in shaping the type of person, and defining their abilities and sensibilities, who will be chosen the next Registrar of Copyrights.

You may or may not be aware that just last month, the Librarian of Congress, Dr. Carla Hayden, “reassigned” Maria Pallante from her position as Register of Copyrights. Following this shocking turn of events, Ms. Pallante resigned, finding she was literally locked out of her office and denied computer access.

The photography ban during White House public tours has been lifted

During the presidency of Gerald R. Ford (1974–1977) photography by White House public tour visitors was banned and stayed that way for about forty years.

The ban on photography, according to White House historians, was put in place to due to a range of concerns. Those entrusted with maintaining the White House's historic artifacts, artwork and the White House itself were concerned with the damaging effects of flash photography at the time. Others were concerned that visitors constantly stopping to take photographs would disrupt White House tours and could allow some visitors to become separated from their tour group and stray from the tour route itself.

National Press Photographers gravely concerned about "orphan works" - copyright proposal

The National Press Photographer’s Association (NPPA) has submitted comments on the issue of orphan works and mass digitalization, with the US Copyright Office, to advise Congress on how to address current issues involving copyrights and orphan works.

The comments, written by NPPA attorneys Mickey Osterreicher and Alicia Calzada, with contributions from others at NPPA, discuss the myriad of issues currently facing visual journalists regarding their copyrighted images, and offer proposed solutions for creating a system which would treat copyright holders and users of orphaned works fairly and efficiently.

NPPA stated in its comments that it “is gravely concerned that in seeking to address the frustration of ‘good faith users’ of Orphan Works in order to cure their potential liability and ‘gridlock in the digital marketplace,’ the Copyright Office may create a far more serious problem for authors/owners of visual works.”