The Copyright Office has suggested legislation that, in its current form, could have a devastating impact on the professional photographer. The proposal would limit, or in some cases eliminate, the damages available against an infringer of an orphan work. An orphan work is a work presumed to have copyright protection, but whose owner cannot be located even after a reasonably diligent search conducted in good faith.
Professional Photographers of America notes that while it does not oppose the creation of a narrow orphan works exception, the Copyright Office proposal goes too far by making it impossible for a copyright owner who later discovers the use of an orphan work to recover even a reasonable royalty. For the last three weeks, PPA has been actively lobbying Congress to make sure that any orphan works legislation that is introduced differs significantly from the original proposal.
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