Canada's 'Orphan Works' Regime: Unlocatable Copyright Owners and the Copyright Board

Authors: De Beer, Jeremy; Bouchard, Mario

Source: Oxford University Commonwealth Law Journal, Volume 10, Number 2, Winter 2010 , pp. 215-254(40)

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Abstract:

This article analyses Canada's approach to the problem of unlocateable copyright owners, more commonly called the problem of orphan works. Section 77 of the Copyright Act empowers the Copyright Board of Canada to issue a non-exclusive licence to an applicant whose reasonable efforts to locate a copyright owner have been unsuccessful. The article begins with a legal analysis of this statutory scheme, based on a review of every application made to the Board pursuant to s 77. These applications were catalogued into a database to facilitate detailed, empirical review and statistical analysis. This analysis lays the groundwork for comparisons among the Canadian system and approaches that already exist or are being considered in other jurisdictions, an evaluation of the underlying public policy issues, and a discussion of possible legislative or regulatory responses to the problem.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5235/147293410794895287

Publication date: 2010-12-01

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The Oxford University Commonwealth Law Journal (OUCLJ) is the flagship journal of Oxford University's postgraduate law community, produced under the aegis of the Law Faculty.
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