Today we traveled around New Orleans with Hanson interviewing local business owners as well as dropping in on a Tulane business class meeting discussing the future of New Orleans small businesses. Tomorrow we have a hectic schedule of interviews around New Orleans as we continue to create content for the sequel to Independent America. So far the people that Hanson has interviewed have been amazing.

With this busy schedule, Kirk and I are disappointed we couldnt keep up with the one-a-day schedule on the videosbut dont worry more are on the way.

Kirk and I went to Bourbon street tonight and sampled the local beverages (hurricanes! and even though its late we have edited a quick video to post to the web. We hope you are enjoying this glimpse into the trip.

As a photographer I have many concerns with the proposed Orphan Works bill; specifically that the bill could remove the last available outlet for a photographer to sue an infringing party if the infringing party hides behind the ‘safe harbor’ that the Orphan Works bill provides.

By claiming that a diligent search for the copyright holder was undertaken, a company or individual could claim after the fact that they believed the work (a photo in this case) was an Orphan Work and therefore free to use, even for commercial gain.

This presents a serious problem for photographers who already must defend their copyright with vigor.

Orphan Law is great in many respects, but it is sorely lacking from a photographer’s viewpoint. I hope my message will help influence the next draft of this bill.

My video is in response to a video for Orphan Works by Larry Lessig of Creative Commons.