We are writing today in response to the Copyright Office‘s notice of inquiry regarding orphan works...

At the outset, it is important to note that a significant majority of our members do not oppose allowing at least some limited reproduction of an orphan work where the rightful copyright owner cannot be located. The primary concern is ensuring that any orphan works exemption does not open the door to even more rampant infringement of photographic copyrights. The second element that urges caution is the possibility that an orphan works exemption would result in the inadvertent and unfair loss of copyright protection for many artists. This is particularly true of those who, like commercial and media photographers, have little control of how their works are ultimately presented to the public.

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