The Senate Judiciary Committee recently passed S. 2913, the Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008, legislation that is virtually identical to its counterpart in the House, H.R. 5889, the Orphan Works Act of 2008, which awaits approval by the full House Judiciary Committee. Orphan Works are copyrighted works – magazines, books, music, films, etc – whose owner cannot be located. Regardless of what caused the work to become orphaned – failure to register the work, failure to register the transfer or rights – future creators are unwilling to use the work for fear that they will subject themselves to claims from the original creator.
Both of these bills would amend titles 17 and 18 and the Trademark Act of 1946 to provide increased protection of Orphan Works. They would do so by providing a limitation on judicial remedies in copyright infringement cases involving orphan works; by defining reasonable compensation as well as what constitutes a “diligent effort” to find the owner of an orphan work (a diligent effort is defined as one that is reasonable and appropriate, and determined by a set of government created best practices); and creating a database of pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works overseen by the Registrar of Copyrights.
MPA supports this effort, and will continue to advocate for legislation that fosters fair and balanced copyright protection.
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