Copyright act’s effects on freelancers

You might have heard of the Orphan Works Act of 2008 (HR 5889), which some artists groups like the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) supports while others, such as the Advertising Photographers of America (APA) and Illustrators Partnership of America (IPA) have opposed. The U.S. Copyright Office indicates that the purpose of this legislation was to allow people to use works whose owners may not be located in new, creative ways and available to the public. On the other hand, groups opposed to this legislation, such as the Stock Artist Alliance (SAA), which has created a blog dedicated to the Orphan Works Act, writes that this act “poses a serious threat to artists by removing protections from unauthorized use of our images.� So, what do you think?