Statement of Marybeth Peters
The Register of Copyrights
before the
Subcommittee on Courts,
the Internet, and Intellectual Property,
Committee on the Judiciary

Excerpt - the problem explained:

"In fact, the most striking aspect of orphan works is that the frustrations are pervasive in a way that many copyright problems are not. When a copyright owner cannot be identified or is unlocatable, potential users abandon important, productive projects, many of which would be beneficial to our national heritage. Scholars cannot use the important letters, images and manuscripts they search out in archives or private homes, other than in the limited manner permitted by fair use or the first sale doctrine. Publishers cannot recirculate works or publish obscure materials that have been all but lost to the world. Museums are stymied in their creation of exhibitions, books, websites and other educational programs, particularly when the project would include the use of multiple works. Archives cannot make rare footage available to wider audiences. Documentary filmmakers must exclude certain manuscripts, images, sound recordings and other important source material from their films. The Copyright Office finds such loss difficult to justify when the primary rationale behind the prohibition is to protect a copyright owner who is missing. If there is no copyright owner, there is no beneficiary of the copyright term and it is an enormous waste. The outcome does not further the objectives of the copyright system."

Ok, time to review the interview with Senator Leahy's aide.

Just how many of the important letters, manuscripts and obscure material relating to our national heritage do you think they'll find on the web?

Isn't it interesting that none of the highlighted terms are used in the bill itself?