Stanford Center for Internet and Society

The US Copyright Office is asking the public to comment on whether problems raised by "orphan works" require a solution, and what that solution might look like. Orphan works are — broadly speaking — any copyrighted works where the rights holder is hard to find. Because the cost of finding the owner is so high, creators can't build on orphan works, even when they'd be willing to pay to use them. In many cases the works were abandoned because they no longer produced any income. In most cases, rights holders, once found, are delighted to have their work used. CIS represents Creative Commons and Save the Music. More information available here.