Orphaned Work

While I was visiting Uppsala University I attended a guided tour which included the famous anatomical theatre built by Olof Rudbeck during 1662-63. The theatre has place for about 200 people and was used to teach anatomy. Between 1663 and 1766 there were only about 10 demonstrations since only the corpses of criminals executed locally could be used.

While on tour I had a discussion with the guide about literature on the theatre. The best work on the subject is a book which is no longer in print. Even worse the publisher no longer exists and the author cannot be identified. The university wants to publish the book but since it is an orphaned work* they do not dare to do so.

One idea would be to find the book and to scan it and put it online anonymously! While this should not be the way to go but it may be the only way to goâ?¦

*Orphaned works are any copyrighted works where the rights holders are hard to find. Because the cost of finding the owner is so high, creators cannot build on orphan works, even when they would be willing to pay to use them.

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