FWD: Orphan works

From: Stevan Harnad <amsciforum_at_GMAIL.COM>
Date: Wed, 17 Nov 2010 20:00:13 -0500

I am posting this for Chris Zielinski, but please do not continue the
discussion of orphan works on this list. The discussion should be
taken to a library, copyright or discussion list. The AmSci Forum is
dedicated to practical strategies for generating OA for current
research. -- SH

MESSAGE SENT FOR POSTING

-----Original Message-----
From: Zielinski, Mr. Chris - bzv
Sent: 17 November 2010 08:47
To: 'AMERICAN-SCIENTIST-OPEN-ACCESS-FORUM_at_LISTSERVER.SIGMAXI.ORG'
Subject: RE: The First and Foremost PostGutenberg Distinction

Bernard,

You know there are entire organizations - such as the Authors
Licensing and Collecting Society in the UK, which I used to run -
which have a strong focus on tracing the authors of "orphan works". We
had about a dozen people working full time on tracing authors, as we
were the trustees of monies collected on their behalf for various
copyright uses of their works.

This taught me that the concept of an "orphan work" is very
time-and-effort-based. With enough of both you can trace anyone, it
seems. The internet has helped enormously with this. I don't believe
there is really such a thing as an "orphan work".

Oddly enough as we plough ahead into the digital age, we are becoming
less anonymous, not more... Like it or not, social networking is
generally trumping privacy concerns. Curiosity is stronger than
concealment.

Best,

Chris
______________________________________________
Chris Zielinski
Coordinator, African Health Observatory, and Managing Editor, African
Health Monitor WHO Regional Office for Africa
Received on Thu Nov 18 2010 - 01:05:46 GMT