Sorry, couldn't resist the headline

Yesterday, a memorandum was signed allowing the digital preservation and online publication of 'orphaned works'.

Of course, the definition of the latter term is quite a bit tighter than we'd usually like it to be. A copyright holder mustn't be identifyable even by 'diligent' research. That term, again, is defined in even more papers and so on and so on.

So, nothing for sites like this one really, but a giant step in the right direction, if you ask me. At least the problem of cultural works disappearing has been identified, admitted and - to some extent - dealt with. That's absolutely great!