There are times where I am sympathetic with the views of the Free Culture Movement. For example, I join with Larry Lessig in welcoming the examination by the U.S. Copyright Office of so-called "orphan" works. These are works of some vintage whose owners are difficult to find, and thus they can't be used even by someone willing to pay the rights-holder. As a free-market advocate -- and as someone who enjoys a lot of music recorded in the 1940s and 1950s by labels long since vanished -- I have a problem with that. My gut says if someone holds rights and abandons them, then the content should be fair game if society would benefit from its use. Still, this is property we're talking about. I can buy a field, let it become covered with weeds, and that doesn't give the neighbors on either side of the field the right to seize it if they can't reach me to complain. I don't envy the Copyright Office with this undertaking, but if they can find a way to make more vintage content available without violating the rights of those who wish to retain their rights, kudos to them.

posted by Patrick Ross @ 2:59 PM | Access: Commons, Fair Use, Orphan Works, Public Domain

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