Re: Finding representatives for "orphaned" works isn't ALWAYS easy

Daniel,

You obviously know your way around the net, but have you tried seeing if 
there is a route via geneology? It should be possible to find relatives. 
I'm sure you've tried finding his name in engineering journals, where it 
might be as Frederick M Griffith. One problem for a book published so 
long ago is the lack of ISBNs.

I do recall you asking about this in the past, and am sorry you haven't 
resolved it yet. But it does not make the case for 'orphan' takeover.

On 16/09/2011 13:02, Daniel P. B. Smith wrote:
> All well and good, but "orphaned" works are a real problem, and the fair rights of the owners of commercially valuable works must be BALANCED against the rights of the culture as a whole to re-discover, re-use and enjoy abandoned works. There will always be mistakes in any laws or regulation, but we shouldn't lock up the whole haystack just to protect a few potential needles in it.
>    

It has never been established that 'orphan' works are much of a problem. 
There is a particular subset of multiple-rights holders with such things 
as school magazines, and they can be dealt with by specific regulation. 
However, the first serious attempt to pursue the 'orphan', by Hathi 
Trust, looks like being ridiculed out of court. That one of the 
proposals has been 'parented' with (a claimed) three minutes work shows 
the danger to rights-holders in any relaxation. That the Hathi Trust 
appears to have failed in the most basic way to protect rights makes one 
suspicious of them and even more so of commercial concerns.

> Why shouldn't rightsholders, as a condition of maintaining their rights, have a positive responsibility to answer queries and maintain traceability? The Motor Vehicles Department requires me to inform them of any changes in my address, why not the copyright office?
<snip>

Current copyright law is already a balance between the two; as a 
property there is a case for eternal copyright [though not one I would 
pursue.]. However, your suggestion ignores the complexity of creative 
origins, and the fact that, not only is the US the only country on earth 
that clings to any form of registration, but not all US works are 
registered anyway; their copyright status is no different to those that 
are registered. Registering affects rights to submit a  case for breach; 
in itself a denial of copyright ownership.

I cannot see how vehicle and driver registration offer any sort of 
metaphor or analogy; the owner her has not created the car, and licences 
are permissions, not creations. Indeed, just as any user of copyright 
material, the car owner pays the creators - who own many IP rights; and 
the licences are a repeat fee for use. Copyright holders would love the 
repeat fee from users :-) .

You write of the 'rights' of the culture as a whole. Those rights, if 
they can even be defined, are best served by strong copyright, which 
encourages ongoing contribution to that culture. The very attraction is 
the control of copying; it is the only way that writers have freedom 
from influences such as sponsors, and politicians.

Joseph Harris




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