Some thoughts on PIPA/SOPA
I try not to talk about too many of my own opinions here, since I’m just trying to tell a story. But what’s going on with PIPA and SOPA makes me nervous, as a citizen and a webcomic artist.
Please take a moment, if you can, to watch this video. It explains the situation in a more visual way, for those of us who do better with that (rather than reading articles about it, that is).
The bills, both of them, are worded vaguely enough that many of us who post creative work on the internet for a living could be penalized harshly for even referencing something copyrighted by a major corporation. My own work here directly references another series in its title alone, and while I try to avoid direct references in the art itself, they sometimes pop up as homages to things that inspire me – not in the interest of EVER ripping something off, simply and purely in honor of those things, hoping that my readers might notice and appreciate the nod in that direction.
I’m honestly not sure how much at risk any of us would be for these kinds of references, but what I’ve learned so far worries me enough to speak my part. If any of you follow my more personal work, you’d notice that I also draw a lot of fanart. Again, as homages – never to insult or make money off of someone else’s work. But it seems the way these bills are working, there is a HUGE potential for abuse on the part of the corporations and the government.
So please, if you have a spare 5 minutes, take a look. Educate yourself.
SOPA appears to have been shelved for now, by the way, but PIPA is up for vote on the 24th.
Thank you.
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This entry was posted on January 22, 2012 by Rachel Marsh. It was filed under Bonus images/information, Notes/Announcements and was tagged with art, censorship, commentary, internet, PIPA, rights, SOPA, webcomic.
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Some thoughts on PIPA/SOPA
I try not to talk about too many of my own opinions here, since I’m just trying to tell a story. But what’s going on with PIPA and SOPA makes me nervous, as a citizen and a webcomic artist.
Please take a moment, if you can, to watch this video. It explains the situation in a more visual way, for those of us who do better with that (rather than reading articles about it, that is).
The bills, both of them, are worded vaguely enough that many of us who post creative work on the internet for a living could be penalized harshly for even referencing something copyrighted by a major corporation. My own work here directly references another series in its title alone, and while I try to avoid direct references in the art itself, they sometimes pop up as homages to things that inspire me – not in the interest of EVER ripping something off, simply and purely in honor of those things, hoping that my readers might notice and appreciate the nod in that direction.
I’m honestly not sure how much at risk any of us would be for these kinds of references, but what I’ve learned so far worries me enough to speak my part. If any of you follow my more personal work, you’d notice that I also draw a lot of fanart. Again, as homages – never to insult or make money off of someone else’s work. But it seems the way these bills are working, there is a HUGE potential for abuse on the part of the corporations and the government.
So please, if you have a spare 5 minutes, take a look. Educate yourself.
SOPA appears to have been shelved for now, by the way, but PIPA is up for vote on the 24th.
Thank you.
Like this: