Pitch Dictionary by pitch.dog
Copyright, authorship & moral rights · Core

Orphan work

ELI5

A protected work whose rightsholder cannot be identified or located after appropriate searching.

Used in conversation

“Please flag orphan work in the next rights or contract review.”

Pitch context

You may encounter “Orphan work” in rights, contracts, finance, distribution & labour conversations or materials.

Why it matters: Explains who controls, pays for, approves, exploits or bears risk around a project.

Caution

Meaning and consequences may change by contract, collective agreement, territory or law. This entry is orientation, not legal advice.

Connected terms

  • Public domainPublic-domain work is not protected by copyright; an orphan work may still be protected even though the rights holder cannot be identified or found.
Sources & evidence · 8

Supporting source families. This entry is an editorial synthesis rather than a quotation from one canonical glossary.