On 14 April OHIM is holding a first meeting with the competent national authorities designated for the Orphan Works Database and for the Orphan Works Directive.
A competent national authority is an organisation designated in each EU Member State and EEA country which is responsible for forwarding information about orphan works to the Orphan Works Database. Different organisations have been designated as competent national authorities in EU Member States and EEA countries. The meeting is attended, amongst others, by the German Patent and Trade Mark Office, the French Ministry of Culture and Communication, the UK Intellectual Property Office, the Hellenic Copyright Organisation, the Ministry of Justice of Estonia, the National Library of Portugal, the National Library of Norway, and the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands.
The main purpose of the meeting is to discuss and agree on the implementation of good practices for collaboration with the competent national authorities in promoting the Orphan Works Database at national level. The proposed activities for cooperation include awareness raising events, training sessions, and closer collaboration with the beneficiary organisations such as libraries, museums, archives, and public service broadcasters.
The meeting is organised by the OHIM together with the European Commission (DG Connect – Copyright Unit). Part of the meeting is dedicated to discussing issues related to the Orphan Works Directive. National authorities will be able to share their initial experiences with the practical functioning of the Directive, focussing in particular on aspects such as national rules and practices concerning the “diligent search” and the change of orphan work status.
OHIM is responsible for the setting-up and management of the Orphan Works Database which provides a single harmonised point of access to information about orphan works in EU Member States and EEA countries. The database was launched on 27 October 2014.
Source: European Observatory on Infringements of Intellectual Property Rights
