Comments Submitted Pursuant to Notice of Inquiry to Examine Issues Raised by “Orphan Works”

AIPLA agrees that difficulties in identifying and locating the owners of copyright in some “orphan works” present a genuine problem, and that society would benefit from greater access to such works. AIPLA further believes that any solution should accomplish several important objectives: (a) substantially lessen the risk for those who seek to make use of “orphan works,” (b) impose the least possible burden on both users and copyright owners, (c) comply with international obligations to avoid imposing formalities as a precondition of copyright protection, (d) require the least possible intervention by the courts and the Copyright Office, and (e) avoid creating “traps for the unwary” which could disadvantage individual authors.

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