[SCC_Active_Members] Fwd: ALA on "Orphan Works" and Copyrights

[Dave Redell]

Recent "Notice of Inquiry" that is relevant to the SCC's interest
in IP issues surrounding software and documentation:


>ALAWON: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline
>Volume 14, Number 17
>March 1, 2005
>
>In This Issue: Copyright Office Notice of Inquiry on Orphan Works -
>Your Input Requested
>
>Background:
>What do you do if you can't find the copyright holder of a work (say a
>photograph, article, or film clip) that you want to use in a book or a
>web site? In an attempt to solve this all-too common problem, the
>Copyright Office issued a Notice of Inquiry on January 26, 2005
>(http://www.copyright.gov/fedreg/2005/70fr3739.html) soliciting advice
>on the problem of "orphan works" - copyrighted works whose owners are
>difficult or even impossible to find.  The Notice of Inquiry provides an
>important opportunity to those who are interested in using materials
>created since 1923 because recent legislation (most notably the Berne
>Convention Implementation Act of 1988 and the Sonny Bono Copyright Term
>Extension Act of 1998) have made the status of these materials
>increasingly ambiguous.
>
>Action Requested:
>An important element to the filings before the Copyright Office on
>orphan works will be information concerning the experiences that users
>and institutions have faced when seeking permission to use a copyrighted
>work.  The more information that can be provided concerning difficulties
>you have faced in seeking permissions will bolster our arguments about
>the need to change the law.
>
>We would appreciate your input to the following questions prior to
>March 16, 2005.  Comments are due on the Notice of Inquiry by March 25,
>2005.  Responses to the following questions may be sent to Carrie
>Russell (crussell at alawash.org).
>
>Please contact Carrie if you have any questions. Thank you!
>
>1) Can you provide specific examples of difficulties that you have
>faced in identifying and locating copyright owners when seeking
>permission for copyrighted works?  If possible, please include the type
>of work and its intended use (e.g., photograph, book, article, film
>clip), the amount of time taken for each search, and whether or not you
>were able to obtain permission for use of the work.
>
>2) How often is identifying and locating the copyright owner a
>problem?
>
>3) Are difficulties often encountered even after the copyright owner is
>identified? If so, please explain.
>
>
>******
>ALAWON (ISSN 1069-7799) is a free, irregular publication of the
>American Library Association Washington Office. All materials subject to
>copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or
>redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits.
>
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>
>ALA Washington Office, 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Suite 403,
>Washington, D.C. 20004-1701; phone: 202.628.8410 or 800.941.8478
>toll-free; fax: 202.628.8419; e-mail: alawash at alawash.org; Web site:
>http://www.ala.org/washoff. Executive Director: Emily Sheketoff.
>Office of Government Relations: Lynne Bradley, Director; Carol Ashworth,
>Don Essex, Joshua Farrelman, Erin Haggerty, Patrice McDermott and Miriam
>Nisbet. Office for Information Technology Policy: Rick Weingarten,
>Director; Carrie Lowe, Kathy Mitchell, Carrie Russell. ALAWON Editor:
>Bernadette Murphy.