Draft Regulations laid before Parliament under sect ion 116D(5) of and paragraph 1D(5) of 
Schedule 2A to the Copyright, Designs and Patents A ct 1988, for approval by resolution of each 
House of Parliament. 
D R A F T  S T A T U T O R Y  I N S T R U M E N T S  
2014 No. XXXX 
COPYRIGHT 
The Copyright and Rights in Performances (Licensing  of 
Orphan Works) Regulations 2014 
Made  - - - - *** 
Coming into force  - - 29th October 2014 
A draft of the Regulations has been laid before and  approved by each House of Parliament under 
section 116D(5) and paragraph 1D(5) of Schedule 2A to the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 
1988( a). 
The Secretary of State, in exercise of the powers c onferred by sections 116A, 116C and 116D of 
and paragraphs 1A, 1C and 1D of Schedule 2A to that  Act, makes the following Regulations: 
Citation and commencement 
1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Copyright an d Rights in Performances (Licensing of 
Orphan Works) Regulations 2014 and shall come into force on 29th October 2014. 
Interpretation 
2.  In these Regulations— 
“the Act” means the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988; 
“authorising body” means the Comptroller; 
“Comptroller” means the Comptroller-General of Pate nts, Designs and Trade Marks; 
“diligent search” has the meaning set out in regula tion 4; 
“identified right holder” is a right holder of the type referred to in regulation 12(1); 
“orphan licence” is a licence authorising the use o f an orphan work; 
“orphan licensee” means a person who either wishes to be granted or has been granted an 
orphan licence; 
“orphan work” has the meaning set out in regulation  3; 
“relevant work” has the meaning set out in regulati on 3; 
                                                                                                                                            
(a) 1988 c.48, sections 116A, 116C and 116D were inse rted by section 77 of the Enterprise and Regulatory  Reform Act 2013 
(c.24) and paragraphs  116A, 116C and 116D were ins erted into Schedule 2A of the Copyright, Designs an d Patents Act 
1988 by section 77(4) and Part 2 of Schedule 22 to the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013. Sche dule 2A was 
inserted by S.I. 1996/2967.  2 “restricted acts” means the acts in relation to a p erformance to which sections 182, 182A, 
182B, 182C, 182CA, 183 or 184 of the Act( a) apply; 
“right holder” has the meaning set out in regulatio n 3. 
Relevant work, right holder and orphan work 
3. —(1) “Relevant work” means a work which is protecte d by copyright or a performance in 
respect of which certain acts constitute restricted  acts. 
(2)  A reference to a “relevant work” includes a referen ce to a work or a performance, which 
itself falls within the definition of “relevant wor k” and is embedded in or incorporated in, or 
constitutes an integral part of, another relevant w ork. 
(3)  “Right holder” in relation to a relevant work means — 
(a)  an owner of the copyright in the relevant work; 
(b)  a licensee under an exclusive licence in relation t o the relevant work; 
(c)  a person with rights to permit or prohibit one or m ore of the restricted acts in relation to a 
performance recorded by the relevant work and, in t he case of a performance, which is 
embedded or incorporated in or constitutes an integ ral part of another relevant work, a 
person with rights to permit or prohibit one or mor e of the restricted acts in relation to the 
performance; and 
(d)  a licensee under an exclusive licence in relation t o those rights. 
(4)  A relevant work is an orphan work where, after a di ligent search made in accordance with 
regulation 4, one or more of the right holders in t he relevant work have either not been identified 
or, if identified, have not been located. 
(5)  Where a relevant work has more than one right holde r and, after a diligent search made in 
accordance with regulation 4, one or more of the ri ght holders have either not been identified or, if 
identified, have not been located, then the relevan t work is an orphan work to the extent that the 
rights of those right holders are either not identi fied or not located. 
(6)  In these Regulations, a reference to an orphan work  includes a relevant work in which it is 
not known whether copyright or the right to permit or prohibit the restricted acts subsists, and 
references to a right holder who has not been ident ified or located are to be read as including 
references to a supposed right holder. 
(7)  A relevant work ceases to be an orphan work to the extent that a right holder is identified in 
accordance with regulation 12. 
Diligent search 
4. —(1) An orphan licensee shall, before applying for an orphan licence, carry out a diligent 
search or refer to an existing diligent search whic h is valid and, in either case, is appropriate to t he 
orphan work which is the proposed subject matter of  the orphan licence and relates to the rights in 
the relevant work which the orphan licensee propose s to use. 
(2)  A diligent search must comprise a reasonable search  of the relevant sources to identify and 
locate the right holders of the relevant work. 
(3)  The sources that are relevant for the relevant work  must, as a minimum, include— 
(a)  the relevant register maintained by the authorising  body and the relevant databases 
maintained by the Office for Harmonization in the I nternal Market; and 
(b)  where there is no record that the relevant work is an orphan work in the register or 
databases referred to in paragraph (a), any relevan t sources listed for that category of 
work in Part 2 of Schedule ZA1 to the Act( b). 
                                                                                                                                            
(a) Section 182 was substituted by, and sections 182A  – 182 C and 182CA inserted by S.I 1996/2967 and am ended by S.I. 
2003/2498, S.I. 2006/18, S.I 2013/1782; section 183  was amended by S.I. 2003/2498. 
(b) Schedule ZA1 was inserted by S.I. 2014/    .  3 (4)  The authorising body may issue guidance on what sou rces may additionally be relevant in 
the case of different relevant works. 
(5)  A diligent search is valid, for the purposes of par agraph (1), for seven years from the earlier 
of the date— 
(a)  on which an orphan licence of the orphan work was f irst granted by the authorising body; 
or 
(b)  that the record of a diligent search undertaken in respect of a relevant work was first 
made public by the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market. 
(6)  An orphan licensee shall provide the authorising bo dy with such information concerning— 
(a)  the diligent search; and 
(b)  the use that the orphan licensee proposes to make o f the orphan work, 
as the authorising body may require in connection w ith the application for an orphan licence. 
(7)  The orphan licensee shall, when applying for an orp han licence, provide the authorising 
body with an application in the form required by th e authorising body, including in electronic 
form, and the application shall— 
(a)  demonstrate that a diligent search has been carried  out; and 
(b)  contain a declaration in writing by the orphan lice nsee stating that the information 
provided in the application is correct. 
(8)  Where an orphan licensee makes a declaration under sub-paragraph (7)(b) that the orphan 
licensee knows or has reason to believe is false an d the orphan licensee is granted an orphan 
licence and carries out any of the acts restricted by copyright or the restricted acts, the orphan 
licensee is liable for infringement of copyright or  sections 182, 182A, 182B, 182C, 182CA, 183 or 
184 of the Act as appropriate. 
(9)  The authorising body shall take reasonable steps to  ensure that the search relied upon by the 
orphan licensee satisfies the requirements for a di ligent search. 
Record and register of orphan works 
5. —(1) The authorising body shall maintain and update  a register which sets out the details of 
the orphan works in respect of which— 
(a)  a diligent search has been carried out and an appli cation, for the grant of an orphan 
licence, has been made to and is being considered b y the authorising body; 
(b)  orphan licences have been granted together with the  permitted uses of the relevant works; 
and 
(c)  orphan licences have been refused. 
(2)  The authorising body shall make the register availa ble to the public by electronic means and 
free of charge. 
Licensing of orphan works 
6. —(1) Once the authorising body has received the inf ormation set out in regulations 4(6) and 
(7), it may grant an orphan licence. 
(2)  The authorising body may only grant an orphan licen ce which— 
(a)  permits non-exclusive use of an orphan work in the United Kingdom; 
(b)  permits acts restricted by the copyright or section s 182, 182A, 182B, 182C, 182CA, 183 
or 184 of the Act in an orphan work for a term not exceeding 7 years; 
(c)  prohibits the grant of sub-licences; 
(d)  has effect as if granted by the right holder of the  relevant work; and  4 (e)  provides that the use of an orphan work does not af fect the moral rights of an author 
under Chapter IV of Part 1 of the Act or the moral rights of a performer under Chapter 3 
of Part 2 of the Act and treats those moral rights as having been asserted. 
(3)  Subject to the requirements set out in paragraph (2 ), the authorising body may grant a licence 
subject to conditions. 
(4)  An orphan licence may not be granted to a person au thorised to grant licences. 
(5)  The authorising body may refuse to grant a licence—  
(a)  on the ground that, in its reasonable opinion, a pr oposed use or adaptation is not 
appropriate having regard to the circumstances of t he case, including whether the 
proposed adaptation constitutes derogatory treatmen t of the work; or 
(b)  on any other reasonable ground. 
(6)  Subject to the requirements set out in paragraph (2 ), the authorising body may, during the 
term of a licence, vary the terms of an orphan lice nce. 
Use for incidental purposes 
7.  Any person may, without infringing copyright or se ctions 182, 182A, 182B, 182C, 182CA, 
183 or 184 of the Act, make reasonable use of an or phan work for purposes which are incidental 
to— 
(a)  the application for the grant of an orphan licence;  and 
(b)  the processing of the application and the maintenan ce of the register referred to in 
regulation 5(1). 
Renewal of orphan licence 
8. —(1) Upon the request of the orphan licensee, submi tted in the form required not less than six 
months before the expiration of the orphan licence,  the authorising body may renew an orphan 
licence for a further term not exceeding 7 years. 
(2)  A request for a renewal of an orphan licence shall be accompanied by evidence of a diligent 
search carried out in accordance with regulation 4 together with the information set out in 
regulations 4(6) and (7). 
Processing fee 
9.  The authorising body may charge a reasonable fee f or processing an application for an orphan 
licence or to vary or renew an existing orphan lice nce. 
Licence fee for an orphan licence 
10. —(1) Subject to paragraph (2), on the grant of an o rphan licence the authorising body— 
(a)  shall charge the orphan licensee a reasonable licen ce fee for the period of the licence 
calculated with regard to relevant factors which sh all include the level of licence fees 
which are achieved under licences for a similar use  of similar relevant works which are 
not orphan works; and 
(b)  may charge a reasonable additional amount in respec t of the costs of the authorising body. 
(2)  The authorising body shall— 
(a)  hold all licence fees paid under this regulation in  a designated account; 
(b)  adopt accounting procedures that ring-fence in a se parate account for monies received 
from orphan licences; and 
(c)  retain unclaimed licence fees for a period of not l ess than eight years from the date of the 
grant of the relevant orphan licence.  5 (3)  The authorising body shall maintain and make availa ble information that sets out, in respect 
of the orphan licences it grants, how the licence f ee is calculated. 
Reporting requirements 
11. —(1) The authorising body shall publish an annual r eport on the operation of the orphan 
works scheme and the orphan licences that it has gr anted. 
(2)  The authorising body shall provide the Secretary of  State with a copy of the annual report 
upon its publication. 
Rights of identified right holder 
12. —(1) This regulation applies where the right holder  in an orphan work identifies themselves 
to the authorising body and satisfies the authorisi ng body of their identity and of their ownership 
of relevant rights in the orphan work either— 
(a)  in the period between the receipt by the authorisin g body of an application for the grant of 
an orphan licence and the grant by the authorising body of that licence; or 
(b)  within eight years or less of the date on which the  authorising body has granted an orphan 
licence of the orphan work. 
(2)  If the authorising body has verified the diligent s earch but has not granted an orphan licence 
then the work shall, to the extent of the rights of  the identified right holder, cease to be an orphan  
work. 
(3)  If the authorising body has granted an orphan licen ce then the orphan licence shall continue 
for the remainder of its unexpired term or until th e expiration of the notice period which is set out 
in the orphan licence notwithstanding the fact that  the right holder is identified. 
(4)  The authorising body shall within two months of bei ng satisfied that the right holder has 
been identified— 
(a)  notify the orphan licensee that the right holder ha s been identified; 
(b)  pay to the right holder a sum equal to the licence fee paid by the orphan licensee in 
respect of the orphan work. 
Unclaimed licence fees of orphan works 
13. —(1) Where more than 8 years have elapsed since the  grant of an orphan licence and no right 
holder in the orphan work has identified themselves , the authorising body shall apply the licence 
fee, received by it in respect of that orphan licen ce, to pay the reasonable costs which the 
authorising body has incurred in connection with th e orphan works scheme, including the setting 
up and running of the scheme. 
(2)  To the extent that the licence fees referred to in paragraph (1) constitute a surplus over the 
reasonable costs of the authorising body, the autho rising body may apply the surplus to fund 
social, cultural and educational activities. 
(3)  If a right holder in an orphan work identifies them selves to the authorising body more than 
eight years after the grant of the orphan licence a nd satisfies the authorising body of their identity  
and of their ownership of relevant rights in the or phan work, the authorising body may make such 
payment to the right holder as the body considers r easonable in all the circumstances of the case. 
Appeals 
14. —(1) A right holder who has identified themselves t o the authorising body under regulation 
12, may appeal to the First-tier Tribunal on the gr ounds that the authorising body has either acted 
improperly or failed to comply with its obligations  under these Regulations. 
(2)  An orphan licensee may appeal to the Copyright Trib unal concerning— 
(a)  the refusal by the authorising body to grant an orp han licence to the orphan licensee;  6 (b)  any condition imposed by the authorising body in co nnection with the grant of the orphan 
licence; or 
(c)  any amount described in regulation 10(1) which the authorising body requires it to pay. 
(3)  On an application under paragraph (2) the Copyright  Tribunal shall consider the matter and 
may make such order as it considers to be reasonabl e in the circumstances. 
 
 
 
 Name  
 Parliamentary Under Secretary for Business, Innova tion and Skills 
Date Department for Business, Innovation and Skills 
 
 
 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
(This note is not part of the Regulations) 
The Regulations appoint the Comptroller-General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks as the 
authorising body with the power to grant licences o f orphan works in respect of which a diligent 
search has been carried out in accordance with the requirements of regulation 4. 
“Relevant work”, “right holder” and “orphan work” a re defined in regulation 3. 
Regulation 4 provides that a diligent search requir es a reasonable search of the relevant sources 
to identify the right holder of the relevant work a nd provides that the relevant sources must, as a 
minimum, include the register maintained by the aut horising body, any relevant databases 
maintained by the Office for Harmonization in the I nternal Market and, where there is no record of 
the relevant work on the register or in the databas es, any sources listed for that category of work in  
Part 2 of Schedule ZA1 to the Copyright, Designs an d Patents Act 1988. The authorising body has 
the power to issue guidance on what sources may add itionally be relevant for a particular relevant 
work. 
An orphan licensee may make use of an appropriate d iligent search that has already been carried 
out if the search is valid or may carry out a new d iligent search. 
Regulation 5 requires the authorising body to maint ain a register of orphan works. 
Regulation 6(2) sets out the restrictions which app ly to an orphan licence and regulation 6(5) 
sets out the circumstances in which an authorising body may refuse to grant an orphan licence. 
Regulation 7 permits any person to make reasonable use of an orphan work for purposes which 
are incidental to the application for an orphan lic ence, the processing of an application or the 
maintenance of the orphan works register. 
Regulation 8 sets out the circumstances in which th e authorising body may renew an orphan 
licence and regulation 10 provides a framework for the computation of the licence fee. 
Regulation 11 requires the authorising body to publ ish an annual report. 
Regulation 12 sets out the rights of an identified right holder and regulation 13 sets out how the 
authorising body is to deal with unclaimed licence fees. 
Regulation 14 sets out the circumstances in which a n identified right holder or an orphan 
licensee may appeal to the First-tier Tribunal or t o the Copyright Tribunal. 
A full impact assessment of the effect that this in strument will have on the costs of business and 
the voluntary sector is available from the Intellec tual Property Office, Concept House, Cardiff 
Road, Newport NP10 8QQ and is annexed to the Explan atory Memorandum which is available 
alongside the instrument on www.legislation.gov.uk.  Copies have also been placed in the libraries 
of both Houses of Parliament.  7   
  
© Crown copyright 2014 
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