David Carson, J.D.
Associate Register for Policy & International Affairs,
US Copyright Office (Part of Library of Congress)
Copyright lawyer for over 28 years
New issues in Copyright--
Especially "orphan works" (protected by copyright law,
but you can't locate the legitimate owner, despite conducting
a diligent search).
More here:
1. Still a good idea to register your notice
and to have your name on it, so they can find it.
2. Since 1978, all copyright records are on line.
3. There is a report on Section 108 of Copyright is online
from the Section 108 Study Group,
the most involved copyright policy group today.
Here's the abstract on the group's work:
The Section 108 Study Group was formed to prepare findings and make recommendations to the Librarian of Congress by mid-2006 for possible alterations to the law that reflect current technologies. This effort will seek to strike the appropriate balance between copyright holders and libraries and archives in a manner that best serves the public interest.Digital technologies are radically transforming how copyrighted works are created and disseminated, and also how libraries and archives preserve and make those works available. Cultural heritage institutions, in carrying forward their missions, have begun to acquire and incorporate large quantities of "born digital" works (those created in digital form) into their holdings to ensure the continuing availability of those works to future generations.
Yet it has been observed that Section 108 of the Copyright Act - which provides limited exceptions for libraries and archives - does not adequately address many of the issues unique to digital media, either from the perspective of rights owners or libraries and archives.
There's going to be a new statutory framework they are working on. The recommendations
have just been released, in March 2008. The full report is online, through a link you can pursue here:
The new legislation is moving through Congress at present.
There are a number of issues the group is dealing with that are making the issue reasonably well handled; for
example, small photographer studios; small claims (so you don't have to go to Federal Court, the only place copyright can be litigated).