Your expectations that thorough searches will occur don't take into account that the purpose of this proposed law is to make it easier to use copyrighted works when the owner cannot be found. The "diligent searches" mentioned often in the Orphan proposed legislation is going to mostly be lip service. There will be some level of effort, but there is no way to ascertain exactly what that will be. The purpose of this law is to make it easier to use copyrighted works. To that extent, damages are removed from the equation. Anything that conflicts with the goal, of making it easier to use old copyrights, including "diligent searches", is a secondary concern. Educational resources and museums do not have the resources to perform expensive exhaustive searches.
By the way, try reading the full orphan report. You'll learn that this act includes unpublished works, including diaries (pg 100): "the privacy of the author might be harmed when sensitive, non-public information (such as a personal diary) is made public without the consent or control of the author. When placed in the context of the orphan works situation, however, the likelihood that such harm will result is reduced substantially. Recall that the author’s remedies would be limited only if the author cannot be found through a reasonably diligent search. Thus, with respect to the first interest of protecting the author’s professional and creative interests, so long as the author takes steps to be locatable, such as by marking copies with his name and contact information, maintaining a web site with contact information, and/or enlisting an agent or other easily located representative, a user would be able to find the author and not publish the material under the limitation on remedies for orphan works. Indeed, the fact that an author has a public reputation that he feels might be compromised by publication of unpublished material almost certainly indicates he would be locatable by prospective users." "we do not recommend excluding unpublished works from the orphan works system." you'll learn that this act includes unpublished works, including diaries (pg 100): "the privacy of the author might be harmed when sensitive, non-public information (such as a personal diary) is made public without the consent or control of the author. When placed in the context of the orphan works situation, however, the likelihood that such harm will result is reduced substantially. Recall that the author’s remedies would be limited only if the author cannot be found through a reasonably diligent search. Thus, with respect to the first interest of protecting the author’s professional and creative interests, so long as the author takes steps to be locatable, such as by marking copies with his name and contact information, maintaining a web site with contact information, and/or enlisting an agent or other easily located representative, a user would be able to find the author and not publish the material under the limitation on remedies for orphan works. Indeed, the fact that an author has a public reputation that he feels might be compromised by publication of unpublished material almost certainly indicates he would be locatable by prospective users." "we do not recommend excluding unpublished works from the orphan works system."
There is an important thing to think about when you read that your diaries are unpublished works that can be considered a copyright orphan. The copyright office thinks that it is your responsibility to ensure that you put identifying information on your diary to ensure that you can be contacted to avoid it being published.
That is the new logic behind this legislation. It is now the copyright owner's job to make sure that the owner can be found. This is removing some of the responsibility from the person who wants to use copyrighted works.
Diligent searches proably won't be very thorough
By the way, try reading the full orphan report. You'll learn that this act includes unpublished works, including diaries (pg 100): "the privacy of the author might be harmed when sensitive, non-public information (such as a personal diary) is made public without the consent or control of the author. When placed in the context of the orphan works situation, however, the likelihood that such harm will result is reduced substantially. Recall that the author’s remedies would be limited only if the author cannot be found through a reasonably diligent search. Thus, with respect to the first interest of protecting the author’s professional and creative interests, so long as the author takes steps to be locatable, such as by marking copies with his name and contact information, maintaining a web site with contact information, and/or enlisting an agent or other easily located representative, a user would be able to find the author and not publish the material under the limitation on remedies for orphan works. Indeed, the fact that an author has a public reputation that he feels might be compromised by publication of unpublished material almost certainly indicates he would be locatable by prospective users." "we do not recommend excluding unpublished works from the orphan works system." you'll learn that this act includes unpublished works, including diaries (pg 100): "the privacy of the author might be harmed when sensitive, non-public information (such as a personal diary) is made public without the consent or control of the author. When placed in the context of the orphan works situation, however, the likelihood that such harm will result is reduced substantially. Recall that the author’s remedies would be limited only if the author cannot be found through a reasonably diligent search. Thus, with respect to the first interest of protecting the author’s professional and creative interests, so long as the author takes steps to be locatable, such as by marking copies with his name and contact information, maintaining a web site with contact information, and/or enlisting an agent or other easily located representative, a user would be able to find the author and not publish the material under the limitation on remedies for orphan works. Indeed, the fact that an author has a public reputation that he feels might be compromised by publication of unpublished material almost certainly indicates he would be locatable by prospective users." "we do not recommend excluding unpublished works from the orphan works system."
There is an important thing to think about when you read that your diaries are unpublished works that can be considered a copyright orphan. The copyright office thinks that it is your responsibility to ensure that you put identifying information on your diary to ensure that you can be contacted to avoid it being published.
That is the new logic behind this legislation. It is now the copyright owner's job to make sure that the owner can be found. This is removing some of the responsibility from the person who wants to use copyrighted works.
Richard Gagnon