Orphan works
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An orphan work is a copyright work where it is difficult or impossible to contact the copyright holder. This situation can arise for many reasons. The author could have never been publicly known because the work was published anonymously or the work may have never been traditionally published at all. The identity of the author could have been once known but the information lost over time. Even if the author is known, it may not be possible to determine who inherited the copyright and presently owns it.
Summary
An extensive body of works fall under the category of orphan works, and so cannot be used without risk of legal repercussions.
A short enough copyright duration would all but remove the problem, however too long a period would still cause orphan works to be an issue. A possible solution may be to introduce a copyright registry.
Forum topics
- The problem of Orphan Works (last post on September 18th, 2009)
Votes
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