Hatch Works to Further Bill Names After Utahn Shawn Bentley

Press Release

HATCH WORKS TO FURTHER BILL NAMED AFTER UTAHN SHAWN BENTLEY

Sens. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt). and other Senate Judiciary Committee members favorably reported the Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008 (S. 2913). The bill, named in honor of a Utahn, aims to unlock proverbial attics of copyrighted works for which the owner is either unknown or cannot be found.

Shawn Bentley, who died of lung cancer at the young age of 41, worked on the Judiciary staff in the office of Sen. Hatch for more than a decade. He was involved in many pieces of intellectual property legislation and initiated the Orphan Works Act.

"It is fitting that this legislation is named in honor of the late Shawn Bentley, a native of St. George, Utah, who worked for the Judiciary Committee on several landmark pieces involving intellectual property before his death," said Hatch. "I'm sure members of the Bentley family must be justifiably proud and pleased."

Orphan works include countless copyrighted artistic works that are unavailable to the general public. This bill allows orphan works to be publicly exhibited if, after a thorough, documented search, the copyright owners are unable to be located. The bill outlines the criteria for such a search, and provides for a court review to determine if the search has been done in good faith. If the copyright owner comes forward later, the user must pay reasonable compensation to the owner.

"This vital legislation provides a mechanism to unlock these orphan works and bring them out in the public domain so Americans can enjoy them once again. It strikes an appropriate balance between protecting against copyright infringement and preserving our national and personal history," Hatch said. "I'm pleased the Senate Judiciary Committee has approved this important bill and sent it on to the full Senate."

Currently, potential users of orphan works often do not display such works out of concern that they may be found liable for statutory damages, which can run as high as $150,000.

"There are scores of superb music, literary masterpieces and magnificent photos and art that clump corners, collect dust, fill floors and dot shelves in attics and storage rooms across the nation - items of immense artistic and historic merit that are unavailable to Americans because their owners are unknown and people are leery of making the work publically available for fear of being sued," the senator said.

A senior member and former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Hatch co-sponsored the bill with Leahy, the current Judiciary chairman.

"With this bill we can preserve important parts of our personal and national heritage, without giving a free license to infringe on established copyright protections," Leahy said. "Genealogists can restore a family photograph from three generations ago, even when the original photographer is no longer available to give permission."

Numerous organizations support the bill, including The Utah Museum of Fine Arts, the Motion Picture Association of America, the Recording Industry Association, the College Art Association, Association of Art Museum Directors and National Humanities Alliance, among others.

The House of Representatives is working on a similar bipartisan bill, H.R. 5889.

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