Copyright in Unpublished Works: 2039 and Orphan Works

Copyright term extension and orphan works

I examine three recent topics in copyright policy from an economic perspective: (1) term extensions, (2) the orphan works problem, and (3) mass digitization projects. This paper was prepared for the seminar on “Information, Intellectual Property, and Economic Welfare. The legacy of Kenneth Arrow and Richard Nelson” held at Turin, Italy, May 15-16, 2006, and sponsored by the Fondazione Luigi Ein...

Fan fiction and copyright: Outsider works and intellectual property protection

Fan fiction has long been a nearly invisible form of outsider art, but over the past decade it has grown exponentially in volume and in legal importance. Because of its nature, authorship, and underground status, fan fiction stands at an intersection of key issues regarding property, sexuality, and gender. In Fan Fiction and Copyright, author Aaron Schwabach examines various types of fan-create...

Copyright Issues on the Protection of Architectural Works and Designs

Architects and engineers depend on copyright law to protect their original works. Copyright protection is automatic once a tangible medium of expression in any form of an innovative material, conforming the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988, is created. In terms of architectural works, they are protected as literary works (design drawings and plans) and as artistic works (the building or m...

Guaranteed Performance Communication in High Speed Net - works copyright

Orphan Works, Abandonware and the Missing Market for Copyrighted Goods

The subject of ‘orphan works’ and ‘abandonware’ is gaining legal attention lately. It concerns the status of copyrighted works which are still within the term of protection but are no longer commercially available to the public. This paper examines the question of orphan works and abandonware from a law and economics perspective. Orphan works and abandonware are classified into five types depen...