Law versus technology: looking for a solution to the orphan works' problem

The aim of this article is to analyse the different regulatory and practical solutions proposed both in US and EU scenarios to overcome the orphan works’ issue. Orphan works pose a problem because users, who are legally obliged to obtain prior authorization for making works available to the public, are unable to locate and contact the relevant rightsholders. The size of the problem, in terms of the number of works considered orphans or the value of those works, even if difficult to state with precision, is known to be significant.