In short, the bill would define an 'orphan work' as any copyrighted work whose author any infringer says they're unable to locate in what the infringer decides is a 'reasonably diligent search.'... It's way, way beyond the current fair use standards for visual art. Here's the Illustrators Partnership of America overview: The Orphan Works Act defines an "orphan work" as any copyrighted work whose author any infringer says he is unable to locate with what the infringer himself decides has been a "reasonably diligent search." In a radical departure from existing copyright law and business practice, the U.S. Copyright Office has proposed that Congress grant such infringers freedom to ignore the rights of the author and use the work for any purpose, including commercial usage.