A piece of federal legislation might have the potential to threaten the work of area artists if they don’t put in the time to protect themselves. Area arts promoter Jeannie Mozier says that if passed, what is being called the Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008 would radically alter copyright laws, taking away the automatic copyright now guaranteed to artists of all types who create any type of work. Mozier says every artist should be terrified at the prospect of their life turn into one big mass of paper work; but a bigger threat, according to Mozier, comes from what she knows of artists.  She said that if this law were to pass, most of them wouldn’t directly deal with it and take their chances when it comes to copyrighting their work, which in her opinion is even worse.

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