Edmund Walsh (EDT) Addressing the Copyright Issues of Orphan Works and Mass Digitization

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Orphan works (whose owners are difficult or impossible to identify and/or locate) and mass digitization offer considerable opportunities for the diffusion of creativity and learning in the twenty-first century. Unfortunately, in too many instances the public is deprived of the full benefit of their use, not because rightsholders and users cannot agree to terms, but because a lack of information or inefficiencies in the licensing process prevent such negotiations from occurring in the first place. As countries around the world are increasingly recognizing, these obstacles to clearance are highly detrimental to a well-functioning copyright system. This book provides in-depth analyses and proposals for the separate but related issues of orphan works and mass digitization.