[SCC_Active_Members] Heads Up - Copyright Law and Orphan Works

[Lee Courtney]

Fellow SCC members,

I ran across a pointer to a request from Senate Judicary Committee that the
Library of Congress study impact of orphaned works WRT to current copyright
law. It appears relevent to the SCC mission. Two questions, 1) how can this
affect us in acheiving our goals, and 2) should the Museum comment on this
issue WRT to software? OK three questions. Also what changes would we like
to see that would facilitate the preservation and study of historic
software?

Excerpts from the URL:

"Concerns have been raised, however, as to whether current copyright law
imposes inappropriate burdens on users, including subsequent creators, of
works for which the copyright owner cannot be located (hereinafter referred
to as “orphan”' works). The issue is whether orphan works are being
needlessly removed from public access and their dissemination inhibited. If
no one claims the copyright in a work, it appears likely that the public
benefit of having access to the work would outweigh whatever copyright
interest there might be. Such concerns were raised in connection with the
adoption of the life plus 50 copyright term with the 1976 Act and the
20-year term extension enacted with the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension
Act of 1998.

The Copyright Office has long shared these concerns about orphan works and
has considered the issue to be worthy of further study. On January 5,
Senators Orrin Hatch and Patrick Leahy of the Senate Judiciary Committee
asked the Register of Copyrights to study this issue and to report to the
Senate Judiciary Committee by the end of the year."

Orginal at:

http://www.copyright.gov/fedreg/2005/70fr3739.html

Cheers,

Lee Courtney