Locating copyright owners is important if the work can not be used under fair use, the TEACH Act, and is not in the public domain to obtain permission or licenses to use the work. Copyright owner is not always the creator and can be the publisher, organization, or creator.
American Association of Law Libraries Code of Best Practices for Licensing Electronic Resources
California Digital Library Challenges to Licensing from some Publishers
A list of places to check to find copyright holders.
