Publishing Trade Associations Issue Rules for Orphan Works Safe Harbor for Users of Academic and Scholarly Journals

From the press release:

Three trade associations, The Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP), The International Association of Scientific, Technical & Medical Publishers (STM) and the Professional /Scholarly Division (PSP) of the Association of American Publishers today released a further step towards establishing clear rules for users of copyright works who cannot locate the owners of such works (so-called 'orphan works') to obtain permission to include such content in new works, course-packs, and compilations. The 'safe harbor' statement we are releasing today is an evolution in policy and practice from statements and positions announced previously.

Stakeholders around the world are currently debating whether orphan works should be dealt with as a matter of a copyright exception, a reduction in copyright penalties once a 'parent' is located, or a blanket collective license.  The view of ALPSP, STM and PSP is that private market solutions are almost always to be preferred, since they are the most likely to provide tangible results, and that solution is put forward in the new 'safe harbor' document.

The safe harbor document outlines a need for a viable and diligence search request, and identifies resources that should be consulted, including a list of journal publisher imprints that the associations have compiled.  Users who conduct such a search where the owner of such a work is later identified, will be subject only to a normal license fee and will not be subject to any statutory, punitive or special fees or damages.

A significant number of ALPSP, STM and PSP members have acceded to the safe harbor principles, and it is hoped many more will join shortly.  In a sense this effort creates an actual legal right that would otherwise only be available through extensive formal legislation.

The safe harbor that members of the three associations are providing will significantly increase the ability of scholarly users, researchers and writers, to utilize the rich resources of scholarly and academic journal content for the benefit of all.

[JH]