For those following the Orphan Works Congressional Bill working it’s way through congress; Photo District News reports that the bill has died a quiet death. Having generated a lot of heat in the professional arts community, this bill threatened the ability of copyright holders to protect and defend their copyright interests.
This law could have been of some benefit, especially for archival educational institutions and museums. However, it was so poorly written, that almost anyone could claim a good faith effort to locate a copyright holder, yet there was no provision for what constituted proof of that good faith effort. I imagine we’ll see another version of this bill in a year or two, hopefully with limitations in place for who the bill would be applicable towards, namely museums and such, and not every Tom, Dick, and Harry Publisher or Graphic Design / Advertsising Firms.Â
