Copyright and Orphan Works: More interesting than you thought!

What are Orphan Works and why does anyone care about them? (No, this is not a post about Charles Dickens and the working orphans who populate his novels. I’m an Our Mutual Friend fan myself – see here about these digressions. Sorry.)

1) “Orphan works” described here and here.

2) Why does anyone care? The usual: Life, art, money, legislation, and Justice, Truth and the American Way.

3) A sampling of websites on the subject, though there are, as you would expect, zillions of others:

4) Legislation: Here (H.R. 5889) and here.

5) LibraryLaw post: Why we need help with Orphan Works (First Lady copyright problems and more).

6) News: here and here and here and here.