What are Orphan Works?
No "orphan works" are not the labors of a parentless child. Orphan works are copyrighted materials where the creator is difficult or impossible to find. If a reasonable effort is put into finding the creator, the work is considered to be orphaned. The problem arises when people want to make legitimate and good-faith use of the orphan work, but can't find the creator to enter into a licensing agreement.
In Canada, my native country, the Copyright Board of Canada has permitted the issuance of licenses on behalf of lost authors for the use of orphan works. As of August 2008, the Board issued 226 licenses, and only seven applications have been denied.
Here in the U.S., legislation is pending in Congress, intended to ease the orphan works problem. It is similar to the Canadian model, in that reasonable steps must be undertaken to locate the creator. If a license is granted to a good faith user, the legislation proposes to attach an orphan works symbol on the licensed material, in the event that the original author surfaces. If and when the original author steps forward, the good faith user will then have to pay reasonable compensation, the amount to be determined by the parties or by a court of law.
If you have expressed your creativity in any form, protect your expressions from becoming orphaned! Contact a copyright attorney to register your works.
