There was a big stink over an article by Mark Simon about the Orphaned Works legislation supposedly making its way through Congress that would make creators pay for their works on a individual basis to secure their rights. In case you haven't already heard it turns out that this might not really be the case. Here's an excerpt from Radio Free Meredith's livejournal on the subject...

"His article, which I linked above, is miserably poorly researched, jumps to completely illogical conclusions, and, most retardedly of all, implores artists to letterbomb Congress in protest of proposed legislation which does not actually exist. Someone please tell me where this guy is getting the crack he’s smoking, because I want to avoid that streetcorner and everything in a six-block radius, kthx."

Check out the rest of the article here which is essential reading on the subject. Big thanks to The Beat from whence I swiped the links. Also included at Heidi's blog is a case of real art theft that reminds us that maybe the current copyright protection system may need some type of revision because art theft is still a very real problem.