This travesty of proposed legislation is set to have a huge effect on ALL works that would normally now be protected under the Copyright Law. That would include not only illustrations and photographs, but all other creative works, such as music, stories, novels, screenplays, personal journals, sketches and designs. The lawmakers have been led to believe that it would be a good thing to require an artist to register not only the final work, but every developmental sketch that led up to it, each time paying a fee to some so-far nonexistent commercial registry, or else risk the theft of the work for someone else's use. That someone may be required to pay you for your intellectual property, but at a price that THEY consider appropriate, without any opportunity for you to negotiate or deny the sale. If this does not sound fair to you, then you should go to the website listed below, pick one of the pre-packaged letters, and send it to the congressmen and senators who represent you. I've already done it, and it's easy. You don't even have to know who your reps are; addressing is automatic. In some cases, you can add your own personal story to the letter, or even write your own version altogether. But don't let this thing get passed without having your say.
2 minutes is all it takes to write Congress and protect your copyright - Please forward this message to every artist you know!
http://capwiz.com/illustratorspartnership/home/