[Orphan Works] Keeping y'all updated; radio semi-silence

[maradydd]

As promised:

The House version of the Orphan Works Act of 2008

The Senate version of the Orphan Works Act of 2008

As some readers have observed, there are slightly different provisions in the two bills, and only one or the other of them (possibly amended) can be signed into law; either the House version will pass the House and be voted on in the Senate, or the Senate version will pass the Senate and be voted on in the House, or neither version will pass its own chamber and it won't be an issue.

I intend to post a point-by-point comparison of the two bills, but it may be a while in coming. My friend Eric's death is hitting me pretty hard, and I'm not really up for doing a lot of blogging at the moment. In the meantime, Alex Curtis over at Public Knowledge has some good commentary; feel free to collect other useful links in the comments to this post, if you like.

Comments

Re: Lawsuit of Countless Illegal Copies

[maradydd.livejournal.com]

I think you're thinking about the clause (which may only be in one version of the bill) that says that nonprofit organisations would not be liable for damages if a work's owner claims copyright and the organisation immediately ceases use. I don't recall having read anything in either bill stating that orphaned works could not be used in a for-profit fashion.

Consider: I can direct one of Shakespeare's plays and sell tickets, because Shakespeare's plays are in the public domain. Suppose I find a play I want to direct, and I'm not sure whether its copyright has expired or not. Under this legislation as I understand it, I would be able to sell tickets, provided I'd documented my search for the copyright holder first.

Re: Lawsuit of Countless Illegal Copies

[green-roc.livejournal.com]

Ah. Thank you for the enlightenment. Perfect example of The Orphaned Works Act doing what it is meant for. Why waste a good play just because an owner can't be found.

Thank you, for everything on this topic. You have brought so much to this Act, and so many people to rethink their opinions, even me. I am glad we are on the same level.