Previous by Date Index by Date
Threaded Index 		Next by Date
Previous by Thread Next by Thread


Re: COPYRIGHT ISSUES: Database Legislation is Reasonable, and Deserves Support 

Hello,

And now, into the Lion's Den!

I want to share a different viewpoint about the Collections of Information
Antipiracy Act, HR 2652.  I support this bill; I believe it will go a long
way toward ensuring that good quality, reliable factual databases continue
to be produced.  This means that researchers and businesses will benefit
from these databases. 

Right now, there is a problem.  Factual databases are used all the time
for research in universities and medical schools, and for businesses. 
Examples include: PoisIndex, which is a listing of over a million harmful
substances and the antidotes and treatment for these toxic substances. 
Poison control centers throughout the world use this as their bible.  Or
Peterson's College Guide, which contains information on 3500 universities
in North America.  Peterson's also does guides to Graduate Schools, and
other educational institutions.  Or, closest to home, the American Library
Directory, which contains information on 36,000 libraries in North
America. 

What all these directories have in common is that they are collections of
facts.  And this means that copyright law doesn't protect them, which only
protects original creative works.  So the result is that the producers of
these databases have had their work ripped off.  This isn't just
theoretical, but has happened to organizations.  A notorious recent
example was Warren Publishing.  They publish the Cable & Television
Factbook.  A competitor to be copied the entire book, and published it. 
Warren Publishing sued, but lost.  The court said that the material wasn't
copyrightable, and therefore Warren couldn't prevent someone from copying
it. 

There is something very inequitable in the current situation.  And if
ripping off these databases becomes more common, it is very reasonable to
think that pubishers will simply choose not to invest their effort and
resources into updating and verifying the information in these databases. 
And the loser will be the users, who won't have these databases to rely on
any more. 

The Antipiracy Act, which passed the House last week, was a reasonable
effort to protect these creations.  If the copying erodes the market for
the products, there is a claim that the publisher can bring.  There are
safe harbors for researchers and not-for-profit institutions.  All in all,
a reasonable compromise to address an unhealthy and unfair siutation. . 

David Mirchin
Vice President & General Counsel
SilverPlatter Information, Inc.


http://www.library.yale.edu/liblicense
© 1996, 1997 Yale University Library
 Please read our Disclaimer
E-mail us with feedback