Author: Leslie Burns

The White House announced yesterday that they have issued a new set of proposals for changes to copyright and other IP enforcement. The white paper is available for download, but the general gist is available here and there is a link there to the paper itself.

Although most of these proposed changes will not directly affect photographers and other small creative businesses, they are important steps for both the actual economic structure of IP and the perception of piracy to the general public. That second part is the important bit for most of us. By clarifying that infringement is a felony (in appropriate circumstances) as well as the other steps listed, the public will become more aware of the seriousness of the problem. Instead of the issue being about “whining creatives” or “greedy corporations” as so many systematic infringers claim, people will start to see that infringement is theft and that it has a big economic result. Infringement hurts the USA.

Regardless of your politics, if you are an IP creator, this is a good thing.

Sometimes I get comments to this blog or to my posts on the BAP Facebook page that are argumentative, negative, or just downright nasty. Here, I don’t approve them and they disappear into the ether. On the Facebook page, I generally delete them. This often results in more emails, comments, and complaints which all usually strike the same note: How dare you censor! This is about open dialogue!

Um, no it’s not.

Your blog, your business Facebook page, your LinkedIn and Twitter and every other social media tool you use are NOT first for the purpose of open dialogue. These tools’ first purpose is to promote your business. Everything else is secondary to that.

Oh, and this is why you should have two personas in the social media world: your business and your personal. Keep ’em separate so that you can rant about politics (for example) without offending the potential client who disagrees with your position.

You must control the message your business sends to the world. That is a first and basic rule of marketing. You must have a consistent brand message, even when you are talking about a video you liked on FB or whatever. Controlling your message includes controlling the responses to your message on any public forum like social media. You need to send a consistent message and nasty comments will distract from that.

So, make sure you moderate your blog comments. For example, I never publish a comment from an anonymous poster. At the very least, the poster has to come out to me privately, then I may approve the comment. If someone posts something negative on your blog, don’t reply on the blog, just delete the nasty comment and move on.

Same goes for your other tools. If someone feels compelled to disagree with you on any tool, look at it to see if it takes a reader off your message and if so, delete delete delete.

The internet may be an open forum in many ways, but when it comes to your business, you have to drive your own consistent path and not let the jerks take you out of your way.

One of the favorite things I get to do as a consultant is to help build a portfolio. I’ve tried to describe my process before, and I’m sure I will again, but until I do, you really need to read this fabulous interview with C. Monaco of Monaco Reps.

In particular, note that she looks at lots of images, old and new, and tells stories with the work. That’s really the crux of it all.

Now, how you get there, that’s the trick. 🙂

I’ve posted not one, but two new Creative Lube podcasts to make up for the two months I missed while studying. The first one is on your cashflow and how important that is for your business. I also discuss your attitude towards money in general. The second is on how a creative pro is a performer, or should be, and I offer concrete advice on how to improve your performance.

If you are a subscriber, you can access them as you usually do. For anyone who isn’t yet a subscriber, you may purchase individual episodes for $8 per.

I finished law school and somehow survived taking the California Bar exam. That means I’m back: Burns Auto Parts is fully functional and accepting new clients. If you are interested in working together, please contact me. Email or phone/text (619.961.5882) is dandy, or you can send me a Facebook message, even.

One important point: I may have taken the Bar, but that doesn’t mean I passed it and that means I can’t give legal advice yet. No fair asking me to review your contracts, for example. Bummer, but that would be practicing law without a license, donchaknow. Soon, hopefully, but not yet. I’ll get the Bar results in May.

In the meantime I can, however, still help you with your marketing, editing and/or sequencing your portfolio/website, building lists via your list service of choice, etc. You can get all the things people for which people have come to me for help in the past, but now with even more experience and knowledge.

I’m excited to get back to the work I love, even while looking forward to adding the Law (once I pass the Bar). I’ve got lots of ideas and plans (a new book and lecture series for starters) so stay tuned.

I’d also like to thank everyone for the understanding, support, and general fabulousness of all of you. I’ve received emails and FB messages cheering me throughout the long law school/Bar process. You’ve been amazing. Thanks so very, very much for being behind me.

Now, on to the future!

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One other note: I’ve moved to Los Angeles and I’ve also updated the BAP website with more information, including the new address and some Manuals. Check it out.

I’m sorry for the lack of posts. I’m a bad blogger. Although I have been posting fairly regularly on the BAP Facebook page, I’ve been awful about this blog. My last term was a load of work, including writing a paper on the silliness that is the publication status requirement for copyright registration, and something had to go… that thing was this blog.

Sadly, I’m afraid this will not get better soon. I’ll cop to it–I’m not going to be able to keep up with this very much. If you want more current info, go to the Facebook page.

However, even there I won’t be as active as I have been. I’m studying to take the California Bar exam and until that happens, I’ll be crazy-busy. No work, no life, just study.

Yes, I graduated from law school… Monday, actually. The Bar exam prep course (BarBri) started Tuesday morning–no rest for the wicked, as they say. Christmas will be short and will involve hitting the books at some point. Same for New Year’s. Ugh.

But it will be worth it.

I often hear creatives complain about having to do stuff they don’t enjoy. I’ve heard them say things like that they hate doing their bookkeeping or making cold calls. Well, that is just the price to do the stuff you love. Studying for the Bar is, in many ways, hell. But I do it with a joyful heart because I know that if I do it well it will bring me closer to doing what I love.

2011 is penciling out to be an amazing year for me. After I take the Bar in late February, I’ll be relocating to Los Angeles. I’m starting a new life there, relaunching my business in some ways, and, hopefully I’ll hear in late May that I passed the bar and will add the Law to my service offerings. I’m excited.

But to get there, to get to where I want to be, I’ll have to study hard, pack and move (ick!), and get back to work in a very big way asap post-Bar.

Until then, I’ll try to post occasionally here.

Deep in school stuff but I have a related question for you: What do you think about the published/unpublished distinction in © registration? That is, does it ever pose a problem for you? Have you ever not registered because of it (especially older unregistered images)? Have you ever fudged a submission because you just didn’t want to have to think about it? Any thoughts on the published/unpublished issue would be great. You can email me if you’d rather not share publicly.

I finally have had enough of ASMP bending over for those who are most against the strongest copyright enforcement. Today, my gauge read “full” when I read Richard Kelly’s tweet encouraging photographers to read this ill-informed piece by Jonathan Bailey on the stupidly named* “Plagiarism Today” website:

It is incredibly hard to do this. I have liked so many of the people associated with ASMP and have worked with them for years. This is like a bad break-up. But I cannot continue to be supportive of the group as it goes down this path.

And sure, this tweeted link isn’t as bad as warmly welcoming Lessig to your table, but it was, for me, the final straw. Maybe it’s because I have been killing myself in law school working to learn all I can to defend the rights of creatives and seeing such an important group give in like this is painfully frustrating. As I’m in the middle of doing research on copyright law and new technologies for a paper, when I read things like how copyright is bad for small creatives, all I can think is “Son of a bitch… another one has bought into the anti-corporate shell game obfuscation spewed by people like Lessig and the EFF and others.”

I could sit on my hands. I’m going to make lots of people angry by posting this, but if I want to look in the mirror, if I want to be a person of honor, I cannot sit by any more and be a part of such a group.

I don’t like calling out an organization I have been a part of for years, but I cannot be a part of a group that claims to be pro-creative that simultaneously does not stand up exclusively for its members’ best interests

Therefore, I will not be renewing my ASMP membership when it expires at the end of the year. I do not believe that ASMP is doing right by its members. It would be hypocritical of me to continue my membership.

I quit.

For those of you who have been signing away too many rights for editorial projects, look what Pepsi is doing. They are re-monetizing editorial images as apps. You read that right…they are taking editorial images and repurposing them.

The next person who says that it’s okay to just sign contracts because the images really won’t be used again (think about the old Boston Globe WFH fight, etc.) gets a (figurative) beating.

Contact your senators and representatives now to tell them to support COICA, the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act. Here’s more about it from the Copyright Alliance. The anti-© forces are really fighting this so we need to get out there and get this information to people. Be positive, talk about the advantages economically for society, etc. Don’t just focus on your own issues but talk about the importance overall, that will help sway those who have been mislead by the anti-© forces.

Need contact info? Here’s how to find your senators’ info. And here is for your House reps.