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FW: ALAWON v6, n76-ACTION ALERT: COPYRIGHT BILL INTRODUCED
FYI......I know that many of you will be interested in the following
announcement regarding the "Digital Copyright Clarification and Technology
Act of 1997", introduced yesterday by Sen. john Ashcroft (R-MO).
I'd be curious to hear what comments LIBLICENSE-L subscribers might have.
Bernie Sloan
Senior Library Information Systems Consultant
University of Illinois Office for Planning & Budgeting
338 Henry Administration Building
506 S. Wright Street
Urbana, IL 61801
Phone: 217-333-4895
Fax: 217-333-6355
e-mail: bernies@uillinois.edu
___________________________________________________
From: ALAWASH E-MAIL[SMTP:ALAWASH@ALAWASH.ORG]
Sent: Thursday, September 04, 1997 4:31 PM
To: ALA Washington Office Newsline
Subject: ALAWON v6, n76-ACTION ALERT: COPYRIGHT BILL INTRODUCED
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ALAWON Volume 6, Number 76
ISSN 1069-7799 September 4, 1997
American Library Association Washington Office Newsline
AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION PRAISES SENATOR ASHCROFT
FOR INTRODUCING BALANCED COPYRIGHT LEGISLATION; ACTION NEEDED
_________________________________________________________________
AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION PRAISES SENATOR ASHCROFT
FOR INTRODUCING BALANCED COPYRIGHT LEGISLATION; ACTION NEEDED
The American Library Association praised Sen. John Ashcroft
(R-MO) for introducing the Digital Copyright Clarification and
Technology Act of 1997 (S. 1146) yesterday.
Specifically, the "Digital Copyright Clarification and Technology
Act of 1997" would amend the Copyright Act to make clear that:
-- libraries and non-profit educational institutions should not
be liable for copyright infringement based solely on the basis of
their users' activities and that any changes to the law of
liability in this area must recognize the unique nature and
mission of libraries and schools;
-- the Fair Use Doctrine (Section 107 of the Copyright Act)
applies in the digital environment;
-- libraries and archives may use digital technology to preserve
endangered materials and may make three preservation copies
(provided that only one is available for use at a given time);
-- educators engaged in distance or asynchronous learning may
use computer networks to remotely distribute a broader range of
materials directly related to a defined curriculum to students
enrolled in their classes;
-- electronic copies of material incidentally or temporarily
made in the process of using a computer network may not serve as
the sole basis for copyright infringement liability; and
-- individuals who deliberately use a computer network to
violate copyright should be subject to substantial civil (but not
criminal) liability, and that punishing infringing conduct is a
better way to deter illegal activity than banning the manufacture
of valuable devices with multiple purposes, such as personal
computers or the next generation of video recorders. (Librarians
and educators must have access to such devices to actually take
advantage of fair use or other privileges afforded them under the
Copyright Act.)
Robert Oakley, director of the Law Library at Georgetown
University Law Center, said he was pleased with the introduction
of Sen. Ashcroft's bill, which deals with many copyright issues
currently facing the library community. Oakley--who testified
today at a congressional hearing on online service provider
liability on behalf of 18 of the nation's principal education and
library organizations, including ALA--said that the hearing was a
good dialogue between content providers and Internet service
providers.
ALA is a member of the Digital Future Coalition, a collaboration
of 38 of the nation's leading nonprofit educational, scholarly,
library and consumer groups, together with major commercial trade
associations representing leaders in the consumer electronics,
telecommunications, computer and network access industries.
BACKGROUND: As previously reported, the Clinton Administration
forwarded the December 1996 WIPO Copyright (and a related
Phonograms) Treaty to the Senate in late July (see ALAWON v6,
n67, August 1, 1997). Shortly thereafter, the Administration's
legislation to implement the treaties was introduced in both
chambers of Congress (S. 1121 and H.R. 2281). A separate House
bill pertaining to the copyright liability of online service
providers (H.R. 2180) also was introduced.
While Chairman Coble's H.R. 2180 constitutes a constructive
starting point for the online service providers debate in the
House, Sen. Ashcroft yesterday proposed broad new legislation
which better reflects the interests and needs of libraries. Sen.
Ashcroft is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee (to which
his bill will be referred) and also sits on the Senate Commerce
and Foreign Relations Committees, both of which will play
significant roles in the coming domestic debate over WIPO Treaty
ratification and implementation.
ACTION NEEDED: Sen. Ashcroft's action and Congressional Record
statement yesterday (which quotes Sara Parker, Missouri's State
Librarian) will help assure that the copyright issues of the
greatest importance to libraries and educational institutions
receive the proper attention during the ratification and
implementation process. He is, however, just one of hundreds of
Senators and Representatives whose support will be needed if the
"Digital Copyright Clarification and Technology Act of 1997" is
to become law. By Friday, September 12 library supporters in all
50 states are asked to:
1. E-mail or fax your thanks to Sen. John Ashcroft at
202/228-6154, especially if you're a Missourian;
2. E-mail or fax a message to your Senators and
Representatives. Urge them to support the "Digital Copyright
Clarification and Technology Act" (S. 1146) and encourage them to
contact Adam Eisgrau, legislative counsel for ALA's Washington
Office, at 202/628-8410 for more information on the copyright
bill.
_________________________________________________________________
ALAWON is a free, irregular publication of the American Library
Association Washington Office. To subscribe, send the message:
subscribe ala-wo [your_firstname] [your_lastname] to listproc
@ala.org. To unsubscribe, send the message: unsubscribe ala-wo
to listproc@ala.org. ALAWON archives at http://www.ala.org/
washoff/alawon. Visit our Web site at http://www.alawash.org.
ALA Washington Office 202.628.8410 (V)
1301 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, #403 202.628.8419 (F)
Washington, DC 20004-1701 800.941.8478 (V)
Lynne E. Bradley, Editor <leb@alawash.org>
Deirdre Herman, Managing Editor <alawash@alawash.org>
Contributors: Carol C. Henderson
Adam Eisgrau
All materials subject to copyright by the American Library
Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial
purposes with appropriate credits.
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