'Orphan works' focus of new initiative

"The Collections Trust and the Strategic Content Alliance have announced a joint initiative to assess the impact of 'orphan works' (works for which the copyright owner is unknown or cannot be traced) on the delivery of services to the public. As part of the work, an online survey has been set up to allow cultural heritage, education, health and public service broadcast organisations to register how the issue affects their own service provision. The first research of its kind into the extent of orphan works across the UK and Europe, the survey has already received hundreds of responses from collections across the United Kingdom and overseas. The survey is available now online and the closing date for completion is Friday 16 January 2009. All respondents will be entered into a prize draw to win GBP100 (or the Euro equivalent)"