Copyright Holders Will Define Details Of UK's Orphan Works Bill, But Not The Public

from the same-old-same-old dept

The UK's new orphan works legislation allows works to be classed as orphans only after a "diligent search" has been conducted to find the owner. The fear expressed by some is that this "diligent" search won't be very diligent, allowing publishers to use materials that aren't orphans. That's actually wrong for a number of reasons, as Techdirt explained recently, but the continuing furor from photographers in particular has been such that the UK's Intellectual Property Office (IPO) felt compelled to issue a document entitled "The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 –Your photos and you" (pdf) explaining how the system would work, and why the fears were unjustified.

However, that document still does not answer the central question of what "diligent" will mean. A post on Out-Law.com provides some information about how this will be addressed: "The 'diligent search' requirement will be defined through a working group so that it can reflect current best practice across all sectors," a spokesperson for the IPO told Out-Law.com. "This will make sure that any requirements are practical and manageable. The working group will include representation from creators, including the photography sectors, and users such as museums and archives." Reading that made me wonder who exactly was on this working group, so I contacted the IPO's press office asking for details. Here's the list of organizations they kindly sent me: Society of London Theatre and Theatrical Management Association

BBC Publishers Content Forum

JISC

National Museum Directors' Council (NMDC)

Copyright Licensing Agency

Musicians' Union

Creators Rights Alliance

British Association of Picture Libraries & Archives

British Equity Collecting Society

Focal

Authors Licensing & Collecting Society

The National Archives

Stop 43

Libraries and Archives Copyright Alliance

The Association of Photographers

British Screen Advisory Council

Publishers Licensing Society

The Association of Illustrators

Society of Authors

Directors UK

Producers Alliance for Cinema & Television

UK Music

Association of Authors Agents There are two things that struck me about that list. One is the appearance of Stop 43, probably the most vociferous of the photographer groups that have been complaining about the new orphan works law. Let's hope that its presence here, and thus its ability to contribute to the definition of "diligent", means that it drops the rhetoric about how the UK government has "reversed the normal workings of copyright," when that's simply not the case.

The other thing is that in contrast to the two groups representing photographers, there is not a single advocate for the somewhat more populous general public. Of course, that's absolutely par for the course: the public is routinely overlooked whenever it comes to asking "stakeholders" what they think about proposed changes to copyright. The UK's welcome move to liberate hostage works at last would have been the perfect opportunity to break yet more new ground by engaging directly with groups representing the 60 million people whose views are never properly considered. Sadly, that seems not to be happening.

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Filed Under: copyright, diligent search, orphan works, photographers, public, public interest, uk