My apologies for the delay in getting back to you.
The United States Copyright Office refers to copyrighted material of ongoing authors as 'orphan works'. As it happens, orphan works have been the subject of a recent study by the copyright office at the behest of some US senators. Although no legislative changes have yet resulted from it -- a
comprehensive report on orphan works (with several recommended changes in how these works are handled) was issued by the copyright office in January 2006.
Among the report's recommendations are the creation of a comprehensive database of orphan works -- along with a comprehensive database of copyright holder's contact information. There are also recommendations for strengthening search requirements for unknown authors.
Speaking of searching for copyright holders -- you will find the current available search options through the United States Copyright Office
here.
Now, let us talk about how (in what manner and to what extent) you can use the copyrighted material of others. Keep in mind, that you should pay heed to these guidelines even when using 'author unknown' copyrighted material -- because you never know when the copyright holder may become known.
United States Copyright law does allow for the so-called '
fair use' of the copyrighted material of others. Unfortunately, the Fair Use Doctrine does not define how much material can be used without exceeding Fair Use. The other problem with Fair Use is that heavily favors academic use and uses which do not involve making a profit.
In summary, not knowing the author/copyright holder of copyright material that you republish is probably not a defense against a potential copyright violation. In addition, it is extremely unlikely that republishing entire works (even short ones, like jokes) would be considered to be a Fair Use of copyrighted material -- should the copyright holder choose to take issue with that usage. In this scenario, your position would be made even weaker if you were making money through your usage (without permission) of someone else's copyrighted material.
Of course, you should discuss this with a copyright attorney before proceeding with any republishing activity.
Click above Link(s) (if any) for additional information.
Let me know if you need more input. If not, thanks for the opportunity to assist you... Please honor my efforts by Clicking the green 'Accept' button (located within this post -- above-right). Adding a bonus -- should you wish to do so -- would be warmly welcomed.
I would also appreciate your
Feedback comments regarding your experience with me.
Good Luck!
Steve
Edited by Steve -- a.k.a. Oreport on June 28 2007 at 7:36 PM
Counselor /listener/collaborative problem solver. Thanks!