The infringer, in your example, is violating copyright and can be sued for copyright infringement. Under current copyright law, anybody who wants to use a copyrighted work must secure rights from the copyright artist to use the work. The only exemption to that is for fair use and fair use examples are defined in the law and on the copyright office's website.
The orphan legislation removes the right to sue the infringer if a work is legally defined as orphaned. It protects people who want to use copyright orphaned works. There is nothing in this bill that helps copyright owners.
The difference between current law and the amended law, with the orphan bill, is that the infringer can use the work without the copyright owner's permission if the owner cannot be found. Under current law, it doesn't matter whether you can be found or not--nobody can use your copyrighted works without your okay. If you believe a diligent search will find you, the orphan law will neither benefit or harm you. If you think that, somewhere in the decades that you own your copyrights while you are alive, and a few decades after you're dead, that you might not be found with such a search, then it will hurt you.
This bill provides you no protection that you do not already have. It is designed for people who do not wnat to be sued when they use old copyrighted works. The people infringing your work today will have more protection from this bill than they do today. You will have no legal recourse to sue them if they meet the definition for conducting a good search. Today, you have the right to sue them no matter what kind of search they make.
There is no reason for any copyright owner to want this bill unless they intend to profit from the copyrighted works of others.
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Re: Lawsuit of Countless Illegal Copies
Date: 2008-06-26 09:42 pm (UTC)The orphan legislation removes the right to sue the infringer if a work is legally defined as orphaned. It protects people who want to use copyright orphaned works. There is nothing in this bill that helps copyright owners.
The difference between current law and the amended law, with the orphan bill, is that the infringer can use the work without the copyright owner's permission if the owner cannot be found. Under current law, it doesn't matter whether you can be found or not--nobody can use your copyrighted works without your okay. If you believe a diligent search will find you, the orphan law will neither benefit or harm you. If you think that, somewhere in the decades that you own your copyrights while you are alive, and a few decades after you're dead, that you might not be found with such a search, then it will hurt you.
This bill provides you no protection that you do not already have. It is designed for people who do not wnat to be sued when they use old copyrighted works. The people infringing your work today will have more protection from this bill than they do today. You will have no legal recourse to sue them if they meet the definition for conducting a good search. Today, you have the right to sue them no matter what kind of search they make.
There is no reason for any copyright owner to want this bill unless they intend to profit from the copyrighted works of others.