“A new licensing scheme launched today (29 October 2014) could give wider access to at least 91 million culturally valuable creative works – including diaries, photographs, oral history recordings and documentary films.
These works are covered by copyright, but rights holders cannot be found by those who need to seek permission to reproduce them. Under the new scheme, a licence can be granted by the Intellectual Property Office so that these works can be reproduced on websites, in books and on TV without breaking the law, while protecting the rights of owners so they can be remunerated if they come forward.
Baroness Neville-Rolfe, Minister for Intellectual Property said: “The UK’s trailblazing orphan works licensing scheme enables access to a wider range of our culturally important works”.
The scheme has been designed to protect right holders and give them a proper return if they reappear, while ensuring that citizens and consumers will be able to access more of our country’s great creations, more easily.
The scheme also aims to reunite copyright holders with their works and ensure they are paid for their creations, by requiring the applicant to conduct a diligent search and allowing the right holder to search the register of granted licences. “