NWU raises concerns regarding copyright enforcement and "orphan works"

In recent consultations and position papers, the National Writers Union
(NWU) has raised concerns about writers' inability to enforce their copyrights and the incompatibility of current "orphan works" proposals, including those in the European Union, with the Berne Convention.

The NWU participated in a high-level conference on orphan works and mass digitization in April 2012, at which the NWU presented a white paper on the "Facts and Fallacies of Orphan Works"
<http://www.nwubook.org/NWU-orphan-works-4APR2012.pdf>. In May 2012, the NWU met with the American Library Association to discuss these and related concerns.

In August 2012, the NWU submitted comments to the U.S. Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator <http://www.nwubook.org/NWU-IPEC-2012.pdf>, incorporating the NWU white paper on orphan works and addressing the obstacles faced by writers in enforcing their copyrights, especially against infringement by publishers.

Additional information is available on the NWU Book Division website http://www.nwubook.org.