 |
 |
As many of you know, last month the US Copyright Office issued a notice of inquiry about orphaned works - this from that notice's summary: "The Copyright Office seeks to examine the issues raised by 'orphan works,' i.e., copyrighted works whose owners are difficult or even impossible to locate. Concerns have been raised that the uncertainty surrounding ownership of such works might needlessly discourage subsequent creators and users from incorporating such works in new creative efforts or making such works available to the public. This notice requests written comments from all interested parties. Specifically, the Office is seeking comments on whether there are compelling concerns raised by orphan works that merit a legislative, regulatory or other solution, and what type of solution could effectively address these concerns without conflicting with the legitimate interests of authors and right holders." http://www.copyright.gov/fedreg/2005/70fr3739.html Libraries and library organizations have responded to this call and just yesterday I received the following from Jamie Boyle (Duke law professor, who some of you will remember as the keynote speaker at the New York City DLF Forum in Spring 2003): "'Orphan Works' probably comprise the majority of the record of 20th century culture and their orphan status means we have practically no access to them. In all likelihood no copyright owner would appear to object if one digitized an old book, restored an orphan film, or used an obscure musical score. But who can afford to take the risk? The normal response of archivists, libraries, film restorers, and artists is generally to give up -- it is just not worth the hassle and risk. ... Solution? Duke's Center for the Study for the Public Domain has produced a report to the Copyright Office that offers one. http://www.law.duke.edu/cspd/orphanworks.html They interviewed artists and librarians and filmmakers about their problems and they offer a proposal on how to fix the system." If you are interested in this problem, and a set of clear suggestions towards a solution, I highly recommend this well-constructed report. David