Memo: Commissioner Barnier welcomes final adoption of the Orphan Works Directive by the Council

Orphan Works are works which are protected by copyright but whose creators cannot be identified or found. The new Directive on Orphan Works will provide Europe's libraries, archives, film heritage institutions, public broadcasters and other organisations acting in the public interest with the appropriate legal framework to provide on-line cross-border access to orphan works contained in their collections.

The Directive is a central element of the Commission's strategy to create an enabling framework for the use of intellectual property announced in its intellectual property strategy adopted in May 2011.

• Primary Source

European Commission: Memo/12/743: Orphan works – Frequently asked questions http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/12/743&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

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