"Orphan Works" Copyright Legislation is Back in Congress
It looks like this time it might pass. The legislation has supporters like the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America), the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), and the Electronic Freedom Foundation (EFF).
The Electronic Freedom Foundation has a good discussion on this issue. I was pleased that it protects authors like me because it requires “diligent effort” to find the copyright holder and “reasonable compensation” if someone violates a standing copyright. For example, if someone doesn't make a "diligent effort" to find out that I'm the copyright holder of an article or book, and I discover the violation, I can sue just as I would be able to now.
What the legislation does is to allow the use of old materials for which no copyright holder can be found. A "treasure trove" of materials might be available if this legislation passes.
Comments
Keep in mind that the definition of a “diligent effort” has not been established with any level of detail to determine exactly what it is. Such details will not exist until one of the bills becomes law. Considering that these bills support the creation of copyright orphans, and are supposedly mostly for nonprofits, and that infringers will mostly be developing diligent search guidelines (no creative community will want to write templates for orphaning their works), courts will be lenient in cases that support the loose language in the bills. The financial and resource constraints of nonprofits will provide the guidelines for diligent searches that commercial companies, with considerably more resources, will be using.
Thanks for your good comment. The ability of a nonprofit to find and use materials should be helpful. I am hopeful that commercial companies will take the time to research copyright holders. Infringement will still result in lawsuits, and no one wins except the attorneys.