Congress Proposes 'Orphan Works' Changes
Apr 25, 2008
Both the Senate and the House introduced legislation yesterday to clarify the use of so-called 'orphan works' -- copyrighted material for which the owner can not be found. Though there are differences between the two versions, they share a common goal of limiting the amount of money rights holders would be entitled to in a copyright infringment case.
Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) co-sponsored S. 2913, named The Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008 in honor of a former aide to Sen. Hatch. On the House side, Rep. Howard Berman (D-CA) and Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) teamed up on the Ophan Works Act of 2008, H.R. 5889.
Under current law, rights holders are eligible for statutory damages of up to $150,000 per infringment. That will change if the proposed legislation is enacted. Here's how Sen. Leahy described the Senate bill:
Our legislation permits the use of an orphan work only if the potential user performs and documents a good faith search for the copyright owner. If users cannot locate and contact copyright owners, they may use the orphan work. But if copyright owners later make themselves known, and if users have performed a search that qualifies under this legislation, owners are entitled to reasonable compensation. The user will not be liable for full statutory damages in those circumstances, but if a user does not perform that good faith search, the user will face up to $150,000 in statutory damages.
Public Knowledge and the Recording Industry Association of America are among those who've already expressed support for the legislation (though PK believes some changes are needed, particularly in the House version). On the other hand, the Illustrators' Partnership of America views the orphan works legislation as a "radical proposal" that will hurt artists, as they explain in this podcast that was recorded prior to the introduction of the bill.
Tags:
Congress, copyright, intellectual property, orphan works, pending legislation
