Copyright Office to Artists: Submit Digitally!

For some time now, the digital submission price for copyright registration has been $10 less than the paper submision price. As of August, unless Congress changes it (they won't), that subtle hint we've been given from the Copyright Office (whisper: it's $10 cheaper!) will become a lot less subtle.

The paper submission price will now be almost double the $35 that will remain as the digital price. (yell: WE WANT YOU TO SUBMIT DIGITALLY!!!)

This is a pretty straightforward message, and it will probably not change the lives of too many artists. It will, though, challenge artists who are not photographers, and who have a set paper and film system that goes back decades - the elderly - who can least afford a jump in registration prices. For them, a change like this can be a dealbreaker about whether to continue with registering at all.

So here is a thought....if we all found just one digitally-challenged senior citizen artist, and twice a year helped them to register their work....what a help that would be for our rights as artists, for their right to register without breaking the bank, and who knows...you might just feel good about yourself and learn something from them!

Where There's a Will.....

Where there's a will, there's a legacy, an owner, a right, a direction. If Michael Jackson's death has reminded me of anything, it is that an outdated will (or none at all) leaves an artist at the mercy of intent either outdated or never reduced to writing. If you die with no will, state law dictates where your art will go. Parents, kids, and spouses have equal rights in some states...in others the spouse takes 50% or 100%. Your work will be valued, maybe sold, maybe chopped into smaller collections. It is so much easier if you have a will, though.

Maybe you think your work is worth so little that it does not matter. That is possibly true. It is equally possible that 10 or 50 or 100 years after you are gone, your work could be worth a fortune...even a small one.

So think of your art, and all the other possessions and funds you have. Where do you want it to go? Chances are, that's not what the state would do. Get a will....it's the right way.