Skip to content

Brought to you by

Dentons logo

Entertainment & Media Law Signal

Information and observation on the newest developments in entertainment and media law.

open menu close menu

Entertainment & Media Law Signal

  • Home
  • About Us

The Challenge of the Unlocatable Copyright Owner – Checklists!

By Bob Tarantino
September 22, 2014
  • Copyright
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via email Share on LinkedIn

As this blog has documented on numerous occasions (first; second; third), Canada’s Copyright Act contains an “unlocatable owner” licensing mechanism (sometimes referred to as the “orphan works” mechanism), which enables prospective users of copyrighted works to apply to the Copyright Board for a license to make use of a work where the user has been unable to find the owner of the work in question. As set out in Section 77 of the Copyright Act (Canada), if the Copyright Board “is satisfied that the applicant has made reasonable efforts to locate the owner of the copyright and that the owner cannot be located”, the Board can issue a license.

We’ve previously discussed in detail (see here) some of the limitations of the unlocatable owner mechanism, but if someone did want to make use of it, one issue which historically has remained unclear is what constitutes the “reasonable efforts” required by the Act as a condition to issuance of a license. (To make things more confusing, the Board’s own brochure which provides guidance on how to make unlocatable owner applications states that the Board must conclude that an applicant has “done everything you could to find the copyright owner”, which seems like a much higher bar to clear than “reasonable efforts”.)

While we still don’t have much more clarity on the issue from the Canadian Copyright Board, the United Kingdom’s Intellectual Property Office (which operates a similar unlocatable owner mechanism) has published three different brochures and checklists which sets out that office’s views on what constitutes a “diligent search” for unlocatable copyright owners. There are brochures and checklists for each of three “groups” of copyrighted works:

  • film and sound recordings (including stage plays) (brochure; checklist)
  • literary works (brochure; checklist)
  • “still visual art” (brochure; checklist)

The checklists, in particular, offer very detailed guidance about potential sources of information regarding copyright owners – as such, though these guides are published for a UK audience, they offer some good inspiration for anyone undertaking clearance activities for any kind of project, including film and TV projects which incorporate pre-existing works.

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share via email Share on LinkedIn
Subscribe and stay updated
Receive our latest blog posts by email.
Stay in Touch
Bob Tarantino

About Bob Tarantino

Bob Tarantino is Counsel at Dentons Canada LLP and focuses his practice on the interface between the entertainment industries and intellectual property law, with an emphasis on film and television production, financing, licensing, distribution, and IP acquisition and protection. His clients range from artists and independent producers to Canadian distributors and foreign studios and financiers at every stage of the creative process, from development to delivery and exploitation.

All posts Full bio

RELATED POSTS

  • Copyright
  • Music
  • Video Games

Licensing and Sale of Copyright and the (Un)willingness to Pay

The New York Times had an excellent article last week (“The Music-Copyright Enforcers” by John Bowe) (hat tip: Miri Frankel at […]

By Bob Tarantino
  • Copyright

Leuthold v CBC: Damages for Copyright Infringement

By Bob Tarantino
  • Copyright

Copyright and The King

UPDATED BELOW The good folks at The Lawyers Weekly have published a short article of mine about the reversionary interest under […]

By Bob Tarantino

About Dentons

Dentons is the world’s largest law firm, delivering quality and value to clients around the globe. Dentons is a leader on the Acritas Global Elite Brand Index, a BTI Client Service 30 Award winner and recognized by prominent business and legal publications for its innovations in client service, including founding Nextlaw Labs and the Nextlaw Global Referral Network. Dentons’ polycentric approach and world-class talent challenge the status quo to advance client interests in the communities in which we live and work. www.dentons.com.

Dentons Digital
Producing in Canada

Twitter

Categories

  • Announcements
  • Contracts
  • Copyright
  • Defamation
  • Errors and Omissions Insurance
  • Fair Use/Fair Dealing
  • Financing
  • General
  • Movies
  • Music
  • Publishing
  • Tax/Tax Credits
  • Television
  • Trademarks
  • Video Games

Subscribe and stay updated

Receive our latest blog posts by email.

Stay in Touch

Dentons logo

© 2021 Dentons

  • Legal notices
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms of use
  • Cookies on this site