Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

1i - How Fair Use Can Help Solve The Orphan Works Problem, Jennifer Urban

New England Copyright Boot Camp

Used in Foundational Copyright (Dec. 1 Boston; Dec. 15 Amherst)

Many works that libraries, archives, and historical societies would like to digitize are “orphan works,” that is, works for which the copyright holder either is unknown or cannot be located after a diligent search. Due to copyright risk if an owner later shows up, nonprofit libraries and similar institutions have been reluctant to digitize and make these works available, greatly limiting access to important cultural and historical information.

While a legislative fix may soon be proposed, this Article argues that legislation is not necessary to enable some uses of orphan …