Abstract:

Orphan work is a very important part of the library’s traditional collections, and converting it to digital form will leave a great impact on the construction of digital library. In order to make the digital use of orphan works more convenient, many countries have established related legal systems, and the third draft
amendment of copyright law of our country also added some related articles to solve the conflict between the need of the use of orphan works and the difficulty of authorization. According to the stipulations of different countries and the draft amendment of copyright law, libraries can use orphan works only if they have fulfilled retrieval obligation reasonably and diligently, and do not find available copyright owners. In other words, the different interpretation of “reasonable and diligent retrieval obligation” will decide whether library can or cannot use orphan works. In the meantime, although “reasonable and diligent retrieval” is the duty of users,a good information retrieval platform is also very important, which is also what our country should try to improve.

Key words: Orphan works, Reasonable and diligent retrieval obligation, Copyright registration