orphan works

What do dusty long-forgotten prints in the British Library, your latest Instagram masterpiece and Oliver Twist have in common? Answer: There’s a fair chance they’re all orphans. The term “orphan” is used to describe copyrighted material where the rights holder is not known or cannot be found after conducting a “diligent search”. The UK has passed legislation which aims to enable publishers to use “orphan” works for commercial and non-commercial purposes.