The Importance of Establishing National Legislation on “Orphan Works”: Example of Old Doctoral Dissertations

The Importance of Establishing National Legislation on “Orphan Works”: Example of Old Doctoral Dissertations

In the time of strengthening the idea of open access, when millions of works become available for free use, and sharing knowledge is new standard of international  communication, the question of orphan works often becomes actual. Old doctoral dissertations make such material that frequently contains orphan works, and the interest for solution is great: this collection can hold the first scientific work of a future great scientist, not only at national levels. They are important and very significant testimonies of national education strategy at one historical moment. Making that material open could be better introduction to one part of national history, as well as it could improve knowledge about achievements of previous scientific generations. This important task should be entrusted to an authorized institution to conduct or to control the effects of “diligent search” that can enable “certain permitted use”, and variants of practice already exist.