Tuesday's Tip: More U.S. Copyright for Genealogists – Orphan Works

Last week I provided a link to downloadable handy guide for genealogists to the complex issue of copyright in the United States.

Today let's talk about a situation genealogists run into a lot: "orphan works," defined as the situation in which the owner of a copyrighted work cannot be identified and located by someone who wishes to make use of the work in a manner that requires permission of the copyright owner.

Archivists Heather Briston, Mark Allen Greene, Cathy Henderson, Peter Hirtle, Peter Jaszi, William Maher, Aprille Cooke McKay, Richard Pearce-Moses, and Merrilee Proffit have compiled a guide describing what professional archivists consider to be best practices regarding reasonable efforts to identify and locate rights holders. 

Visit this link to download the SAA best practices document.