Is the whole world to be copyrighted?
From Ken Duncan, Sydney Australia
August 20, 2003
Fred, by all means use what ever I have
sent you to start now to activate your fellow American photographers.At
present we are running on a very big issue over here fighting changes
that were passed in government that allows National Parks, Federal
Parks, Local councils, Cities and other aboriginal owed land to
charge usages on an photos taken of natural or man made objects.
They are trying to say that they own copyright in all created things
including animals, vegetation basically all of creation obviously
they must think they are God to try and claim royalties on His creation.
This whole issue may be laughable and you could wonder
how anyone could take this seriously but at present it is not only
Australia that is going
to be influenced it's a lot of other countries as well. The
other countries are seeing this new copyright issue as a big
money earner for all involved and see it as a great roll model for
their own nations. Delegates from the USA have been over here looking at the concept
and are aiming at introducing it in your country. It is obviously
more involved and even heavier than I have mentioned. The whole
argument or spear head of this insidious action is at a National
Park in Central Australia called Uluru- Kata Tjuta National Park
(more commonly known as Ayers Rock) This Park is been seen as a
roll model for the future. At that park the restrictions are so
heavy that you can only photograph the beautiful formation from
really limited angles. Only about 5% would be able to be photographed
and then only from points or paths that they designate. So much
for creativity.You have to fill out a huge forms and pay, even to
take any photos, and then any shot you want to use you have to submit
for their approval, which is like a lucky dip. Every time
you want to useany image they want you to resubmit it
and pay future royalties on sales to them. If they catch you taking
photos without your permit they can confiscate all you equipment
and ban you from the Park.
Now
they are also trying to make the law retrospective (retroactive)
and include previous images taken before the legislation. At present
they are taking action against one of our photographers who did
a book years ago before these restrictions and they trying to make
him get all his books back from the stores and destroy them. If
he doesn't they will take legal action againsthim and force
him to recall the books for destruction and thenfine himup
to $50,000 and Legal fees on top. One of our photographers
has being trying to get in touch with Outdoor Photography in the
USA but they haven't even got back to him which is really slack
as if these laws are adapted to the American scene there will be
no Outdoor photography without incredible restrictions huge royalties
and lots of paperwork. This fight we are in, if we don't win it,
then all the technicality in the world will not help if they lock
up our subject matter.
The problem with bureaucrats is they sneak things through
while we are busy getting on with the Job of making a living but
I can assure you its all on over here and it is on it's way to America.
In fact have you tried taking photos out at Monument Valley in Arizona
as there are
regulations there banning commercial usages of any images taken
without permissions or payment. To my knowledge nobody has
been sued yet but the mechanisms are all ready there for them to
take legal action against any photographer or individual who uses
shots without permission.
It seems some of the people behind driving this
agenda in Australia are also the Copyright Lawyers who are interested
in pursing intellectual
property cases. As if they get people arguing over who owns copyright
on what, they are going to be very busy clocking up the hours. We
just had a case over here where a Film Director who just happens
to like to take stills photos as well, had an Exhibition in one
of Sydney's leading
galleries. Two of the photos exhibited were shots from his
trip out to central Australia and shot before permissions were needed.
The shots have
now been deemed unacceptable by new standards and he was threaten
with action of facing fines up to $55,000 so the gallery
in question removed the photos from the display. A smarmy Bureaucrats
went on national Television on having the Gallery back down and
withdrawing the offending images and said "It's Good to see
people are taking us seriously and now we will not have to take
action against them." How's that for creative censorship and Big
Bully Tactics.
Years ago we tried to warn people of what was
going on in Australia and people were of the opinion that surely
common sense would prevail but in the end the laws have been put
in place and now we have to battle Ten times as hard to
try and get them changed.
If any of our IAPP members can get
through to some of the major American magazines I can give them
heaps of information.
Information published on the IAPP website at: http://http://www.panoramicassociation.org/.
All rights reserverd and copyright of author.