This is great news for us IR folks – we do everything in our power to hunt down copyright owners…but when the trail goes dead to tracking down the copyright owner, then what? We can’t post the paper without taking on the risk of later legal action…that is, until the Orphan Works Act of 2008. Now onto the House…
“The Senate on Friday passed the Orphan Works Act of 2008, legislation that weakens copyright protection for works whose owners cannot be located. The legislation has now been referred to the House Judiciary Committee.
The legislation requires only that a company make a “reasonably diligent” search to locate a copyright owner before using their work in media including the Internet, and limits compensation required for the use of an infringed work.”
[From the Wall Street Journal]
