The US Orphan Works Act has seen it’s demise… or has it?
S. 2913: Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008
The Orphan Works Act has a goal of reducing copyright infringement of so-called “orphaned” works as long as there was a “diligent” effort to locate the copyright owner. Orphaned creative works are those in which the copyright holder cannot be promptly located.
Many groups see this as a “problem” because the default response of many is to disregard copyrighted works unless they are definitively in the public domain, orphan works are often not made available to the public due to uncertainty over their ownership.
My question has always been why is not being able to use a piece of art, text, etc. a problem. Without permission it is copyright infringement… period. What is the effort involved in making a “diligent effort”? More often than not the passing of this act would encourage infringement by providing a safety net for large organizations, or any for that matter, to reap benefits from material that they need not compansate the creator for.
Digital rights groups like Public Knowledge hailed the measure. The group said “it would restore much needed balance to copyright law.”
“Orphan works relief was vigorously opposed by visual artists… And while we have thought some of their concerns misguided, they did a fine job of organizing and getting their voices heard.”
That was the rueful conclusion Monday from the President of Public Knowledge. She was conducting a postmortem on her blog to explain why their last minute efforts to pass the Orphan Works Act failed last week. (more…)
Take Action: Don’t Let Congress Orphan Your Work
The next great work taken for others benefit may be your own.
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