The publishing industry has urged the US Congress to take legislative action to address the problem of 'orphan works'. These are works under copyright whose owners cannot be identified or located by third parties seeking permission to use the works.
Allan Adler, AAP Vice President for Legal & Government Affairs, has testified on behalf of the Association of American Publishers (AAP). He told the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet and Intellectual Property that book publishers, as both users and producers of copyrighted works, have an important stake in achieving an equitable and workable statutory solution. Publishers have been deeply involved in the process leading up to the introduction and approval of remedial legislation by the Subcommittee in 2006, he pointed out. It was urged that the earlier bill, the 'Orphan Works Act of 2006,' be made to provide the starting point for a push to enact orphan works legislation before the end of the current Congress later this year.
The AAP representative endorsed the 'minimalist' approach taken in the 2006 legislation. That legislation stipulates that if the user of a copyrighted work has performed a "reasonably diligent but ultimately unsuccessful" search to locate the copyright owner and that owner later turns up and sues for infringement, the user would be entitled to the benefits of limits on the compensation and injunctive remedies available to the owner. However, he noted the need for clarification of the criteria for a 'reasonably diligent' search, including instances where the search is carried out by third parties or instances involving multiple, unrelated uses of a copyrighted work.
Adler also urged that State entities not be permitted to claim the proposed limitation on remedies protection. He pointed out that under the 11th Amendment's sovereign immunity provision, State entities cannot be liable for monetary damages, but can be enjoined from further infringing uses. Were State entities allowed to avail themselves of the orphan works limitations, copyright owners who came forward with an infringement claim against a State entity which balked at providing 'reasonable compensation,' would be left with no recourse.
More News in this Theme
