Orphan works

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An orphan work is a copyrighted work where it is difficult or impossible to contact the copyright holder.

To solve the problem of orphan works, some countries have considered a compulsory license scheme.^[1]. Some believe that such a scheme, even when applied to foreign works, would pass the Berne three-step test because it is limited to those works that are no longer actively exploited.

1 Canada
2 United States
3 Europe
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Canada

Canada has created a compulsory licensing scheme that allows licenses for the use of published works to be issued by the Copyright Board of Canada on behalf of unlocatable copyright owners^[2]. As of September 2006 the Board had issued 189 such licenses^[3].

[edit] United States

In January 2006, the United States Copyright Office released a report on orphan works^[4], concluding that:

The orphan works problem is real.
The orphan works problem is elusive to quantify and describe comprehensively.
Some orphan works situations may be addressed by existing copyright law, but many are not.
Legislation is necessary to provide a meaningful solution to the orphan works problem as we know it today.

In May 2006, U.S. Representative Lamar Smith introduced H.R.5439, a bill aimed at addressing the issue of orphan works by providing limitations of remedies in cases in which the copyright holder cannot be located^[5].

[edit] Europe

The European Commission, the civil branch of the European Union, is currently looking into the orphan works problem.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] See also

abandonware

[edit] References

^ Peters, Marybeth (2006). The Challenge of Copyright in the Digital Age (html). Focus on: Intellectual Property Rights. U.S. Department of State's Bureau of International Information Programs. Retrieved on 27 November 2006.
^ Copyright Act, R.S., c 77 (html). Copyright Board of Canada (2005). Retrieved on 27 November 2006.
^ Unlocatable Copyright Owners Licenses Issued (html). Copyright Board of Canada (2006). Retrieved on 27 November 2006.
^ Report on Orphan Works (pdf). United States Copyright Office (2006-01). Retrieved on 27 November 2006.
^ Copyright: Orphan Works (html). American Library Association (2006-08). Retrieved on 28 November 2006.