Orphan works

A wealth of copyright material is now neglected and wasted because the owners of the relevant rights cannot be found, and therefore permission to use the material cannot be given. To encourage the use of these ‘orphan works’, the ALRC recommends that the remedies available for copyright infringement be limited where a reasonably diligent search for the rights holder has been made and, where possible, the work has been attributed to the author. These reforms will promote the wider use of orphan works, without harming rights holders.