COPYCENSE

“After months of debate and negotiation, a bill on orphan works has been introduced in Congress. Photography groups continue to oppose the bill, but say it is not as bad as they feared.

“The Orphan Works Act of 2006 (H.R. 5439) (.pdf) is based on a recommendation from the U.S. Copyright Office, which photography groups decried as a dangerous erosion of copyright law. But the bill also makes some concessions to rights owners, including delaying the effective date of the law until 2008 and ordering the Copyright Office to put more information online to help people find copyright holders.

“The bill was introduced Tuesday by Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and will be reviewed Wednesday at a meeting of the House Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property, which Smith chairs.”

Daryl Lang. Congress To Consider Softer Version of Orphan Works Bill. PDN Online. May 23, 2006.

Related Stories & Documents:

The Patry Copyright Blog. Orphan Works. May 23, 2006.

Public Knowledge. Orphan Works Bill Introduced. May 23, 2006.

William Jackson. Homes for Copyright Orphans. GCN. May 1, 2006.

American Society of Media Photographer. Status of the Orphan Works proposal.

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