Statement on Orphan Works 2017

Orphan works are works which are, or are likely to be, protected by copyright but it has been impossible to identify, locate or contact the copyright owner. Like many other archives, museums, galleries and libraries, in Australia and overseas, we inevitably have to deal with many orphan works in our collection.  

The use of orphan works without a licence or permission from the copyright owner, where a copyright exception is not otherwise available, is an infringement of copyright. For audiovisual collections, orphan works include sound recordings or films where copyright may have expired in the work as a whole, but rights subsist in the underlying works (such as in the script or music accompanying the film). 

While it is generally possible for clients to view or listen to an Orphan Work at an Access Centre for research purposes, and we may provide access to orphan works for non-commercial purposes, the NFSA rarely provides copies of Orphan Works for commercial purposes.

View more information about Collection ownership and copyright.