Orphan works, or artworks for which no copyright holder is traceable, pose a growing problem for museums, archives, and other heritage institutions. As they come under more and more pressure to digitize and share their archives, they are often hampered by the uncertain rights status of items in their collections. The Greatest Films Never Seen: The Film Archive and the Copyright Smokescreen uses the prism of copyright to reconsider human agency and the politics of the archive, and asks what the practicalimplications are for educational institutions, the creative industries, and the general public.

Claudy Op den Kamp is Lecturer in Film and faculty member at the Centre for Intellectual Property Policy and Management at Bournemouth University, UK, and Adjunct Research Fellow at Swinburne Law School, Australia.

AcknowledgementsPrefaceTHE ORPHAN IN A HANDBAGAn introduction to the film archive and intellectual propertyThe book's approachThe film archive: a brief historyArchival beginningsDigitizationIntellectual propertyStructure of the book1 TERRA INCOGNITAThe Nederlands Filmmuseum / EYE Film Institute NetherlandsWhat's in a name?Dichotomy I: Creating historical resonanceDichotomy II: The need for re-categorization2 A SWISS BANKRe-categorization I - The embargoed filmThe archive as rights holderThird party rights holders: Fragile relationsClose-up: ALS TWEE DRUPPELS WATER ('LIKE TWO DROPS OF WATER')The colourization debate3 A HANDBAGRe-categorization II - The orphan filmClose-up: De OVERVAL ('THE SILENT RAID')The 'orphan works problem' and its causesDefinition, demarcation, and scopeLegal causesAdministrative causesProposed solutions to the orphan works problemLegislative measuresAdministrative measures4 A VEHICLE OF POWER Re-categorization III - The public domain filmClose-up: BEYOND THE ROCKSWhat is the public domain?The digital skewThe public domain and public accessThe public domain and access to high-quality originals5 A BIRTHPLACEThe begotten filmFound footage, legal provenance, and the 'aesthetics of access'Institutional re-useNon-institutional re-useThe question of the archive'BITS & PIECES as synecdoche': a challenge to film history6 THE POTENTIAL FOR HISTORY MAKINGOf accidents and activationClose-up: The Paper Print CollectionThemes and tensionsArchival practice, and the 'activation of copyright'Public domain statusThe potential for (film) history makingThe archive and 'doing' historyThe 'research program'CONCLUSIONThe Brighton lineNotesFilmographyBibliographyIndex