Copyright Office Seeks Public Comments on Orphan Works and Mass Digitization Pilot Program | Practical Law

Copyright Office Seeks Public Comments on Orphan Works and Mass Digitization Pilot Program | Practical Law

The US Copyright Office seeks public comments on a pilot program setting out an extended collective licensing (ECL) system for certain mass digitization projects for nonprofit educational or research purposes.

Copyright Office Seeks Public Comments on Orphan Works and Mass Digitization Pilot Program

by Practical Law Intellectual Property & Technology
Published on 08 Jun 2015 • USA (National/Federal)
The US Copyright Office seeks public comments on a pilot program setting out an extended collective licensing (ECL) system for certain mass digitization projects for nonprofit educational or research purposes.
On June 8, 2015, the US Copyright Office issued a Notice of Inquiry requesting public comments on specific recommendations of a limited pilot program with corresponding draft legislation for extended collective licensing (ECL) for certain mass digitization activities beyond the Copyright Act's scope (80 Fed. Reg. 32614-01 (June 9, 2015)). After conducting a multi-year study on orphan works and mass digitization, the Copyright Office concluded that adding ECL to US law would facilitate this mass digitization. The pilot program focuses on the work of those who seek to digitize and provide full access to books, photographs or other materials for nonprofit educational or research purposes.
The pilot program proposes a system where collective management organizations (CMO) can represent certain copyright owners. The CMO will be able to:
  • Seek authorization from the Register of Copyrights to issue licenses on behalf of both members and non-members of the CMO for certain mass digitization activities.
  • Negotiate royalty rates and terms with users seeking to digitally reproduce and provide online access to a collection or body of copyrighted works for the benefit of the public, a community or other specified users.
The Copyright Office seeks comments on the practical operation of this system, specifically on:
  • Examples of large digitization projects that may be appropriate for licensing under the proposed ECL framework.
  • The dispute resolution process before the Copyright Royalty Board when an authorized CMO and prospective user are unable to agree to licensing terms.
  • The distribution of royalties.
  • The Copyright Office's recommendation that a CMO be required to conduct diligent searches for non-member rightsholders for whom it has collected royalties.
Comments are due electronically by 5:00 p.m. EST 60 days after the notice of inquiry's publication in the Federal Register. Comments can be submitted through the Copyright Office's website.