The EEA EFTA States believe that cost effective and administratively simple solutions should be sought to overcome the challenges connected to clearing the rights of work protected by copyright. On this note the EEA EFTA States stress the importance of accepting the continuation and further development of present schemes that are not based on prior diligent searches, such as the Extended Collective Licensing System found in the Nordic countries.

The Commission’s proposal aims to create a legal framework that ensures a lawful access to orphan works that are stored in online digital libraries or archives across borders. Orphan works are material whose copyright owners cannot be identified or located.

Click here to access the EEA EFTA Comment.