Report on Orphan Works (including appendices)

207 Pages·2006·1.92 MB·English

Report on
Orphan Works
A Report of the Register of Copyrights · January 2006
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Library of Congress
U. S. Copyright Office
101 Independence Avenue SE
Washington, DC 20559-6000

Report on Orphan Works
A Report of the Register of Copyrights · January 2006
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The Register of Copyrights of the United States of America
United States Copyright Office • 101 Independence Avenue SE • Washington, DC 20559-6000 • [phone]
January 23, 2006
Dear Chairman Hatch and Senator Leahy:
Thank you for your request of the Copyright Office to study of the issue of "orphan
works" – copyrighted works for which the owner cannot be located. I am pleased to present our
"Report on Orphan Works" in response to your request.
The response from the public to this study was extraordinary. We received over 850
written comments, most of which were filed by individuals who have concerns about the use of orphan
works. As you know, the roundtable discussions we held in Washington, D.C. and California were
well-attended, and the participants engaged in thoughtful and productive discussion of the many
complex issues involved in this matter. Indeed, throughout the process the participants have addressed
the issues forthrightly, with helpful dialogue and suggestions as to how this problem should be solved.
The Report contains a specific legislative recommendation along with a discussion of
our thinking behind the recommendation and the various issues involved. We look forward to working
with you and your staffs should you consider legislation to address this issue.
Please let me know if you have any questions. I would be happy to discuss the Report
with you or your staff.
Respectfully,
Marybeth Peters
Register of Copyrights
Enclosure
The Honorable Orrin G. Hatch
Chairman
Subcommittee on Intellectual Property
Committee on the Judiciary
104 Hart Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Patrick Leahy
433 Russell Senate Office Building
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510

United States Senate
WASHINGTON, DC 20510
January 5, 2005
Ms. Marybeth Peters, Register of Copyrights
James Madison Memorial Building
101 Independence Avenue SE
Room 403
Washington, DC 20540
Dear Ms. Peters.
In Eldred v. Ashcroft, the Supreme Court considered the Copyright Term Extension Act
of 1998, and then reaffirmed Congress's broad power under the Copyright Clause of the
Constitution to determine the appropriate term of copyright protection and to extend the
term of existing works. That case, both before and after its decision, created considerable
controversy. A principal concern is that the current Copyright Act might be creating a
class of "orphan works" — works for which no copyright owner can be found, and thus for
which permission to use or adapt these works cannot be obtained.
We have heard that this situation places an unnecessary burden on those who wish to use
orphan works: They cannot reduce the risk that their use of the work might result in
copyright infringement, and therefore would likely choose not to use the work. This
would be unfortunate and inconsistent with the purpose of the Copyright Act, because in
such cases it would seem that although no one objects to the use, the public nevertheless
is deprived of access to that work.
We would like the Copyright Office to undertake a review of this orphan works issue,
and, based on that review, develop policy options and legislative recommendations for
the Committee on the Judiciary. We would ask that the Office report to the Committee
its findings during the first year of the 109th Congress. and would suggest that soliciting
written comments from interested parties would be an appropriate starting point for this
review.
Thank you for your assistance in this matter.
Sincerely,
ORRIN G. HATCH PATRICK LEAHY
United States Senator United States Senator

LAMAR SMITH COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
21st District, Texas
Chairman, SubcommitteeT HoE INnTER NCET AoNDu INrTEtLLsEC,TUAL PROPERTY
,
JOHN W. LAMPMANN SUBCOMMITTEE ON IMMIGRATION AND CLAIMS
CHIEF OF STAFF
RRayAbuYrn BHoUusRe ONffi cHe BOuiUldiSngE OFFICE BUILDING COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE
ASHINGTON, DC 20515-4321 Congress of the United States SUBCOMMITTEE ON SPACE AND AERONAUTIC
FAX [phone](202)225-4235 SUBCOMMITTEE ON RESEARCH
http://lamarsmith.house.gov SELECT COMMITTEE ON Representatives of House
HOMELAND SECURITY
SUBCOMMITTEE ON CYBERSECURITY, SCIENCE
AND RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT
January 7, 2005 SUBCOMMITTEE ON INFRASTRUCTURE AND
BORDER SECURITY
SUBCOMMITTEE ON INTELLIGENCE AND
COUNTERTERRORISM
Marybeth Peters
Register of Copyrights
Library of Congress
Washington, DC 20540
Dear Register Peters,
Several groups have expressed interest in the Copyright Office issuing a notice of
inquiry surrounding the use of older copyrighted works whose owners cannot be located. I
write to support such an undertaking by your office.
As established by Section 104 of the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of
1998, existing copyright law creates a limitation on exclusive rights for reproductions by
libraries and archives of works during the last 20 years of any term of copyright of a
published work. Some are concerned that this provision does not ensure that older works
are commercialized or made available to the public via libraries and archives to the
greatest extent possible.
I note that other countries have created mechanisms to address both the
commercialization of works with unlocatable copyright owners and the accessibility issue.
I encourage you to consult with all interested parties in determining the impact of existing
law as well as identifying the interest and possible need for any updates to existing law.
Please keep me updated as your effort proceeds.
Sincerely,
Lamar Smith
Member of Congress
LS/cg
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