ALAWON: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline
Volume 13, Number 82
October 18, 2004

In This Issue: Nominations Sought for L. Ray Patterson Award 

ALA is seeking nominations for the L. Ray Patterson Copyright Award: In Support of Users' Rights.  L. Ray Patterson < http://www.law.uga.edu/intranet/archives/academics/profiles/patterson.html> was a foremost legal thinker, writer and practitioner who championed users' rights.  He pioneered efforts to draw attention to the restrictive nature of aggressive enforcement and unnecessary expansions of copyright law.  By acknowledging those who follow in his footsteps we celebrate Patterson's accomplishments and his many contributions to the library community.

We wish to give the first L. Ray Patterson award to a person or group that has significantly and consistently contributed to the pursuit of balanced copyright principles while working in the area(s) of academia, law, politics, public policy, libraries or library education.  While the standing of this award was well established through its namesake and first awardee, the continued prestige of the award depends on the quality of nominations received from our members and the public.  

The L. Ray Patterson Copyright Award: In Support of Users' Rights honors deserving individuals or groups who embody the spirit of the U.S. Copyright law as voiced by the framers of our Constitution: "to advance the knowledge of science and useful arts" (U.S. Constitution, art 1, sec 8).  Nominees for the Patterson Award are persons who follow and draw attention to the fundamental tenets established by Congress when drafting the U.S. Copyright law:   

* The creation of new knowledge and the arts are encouraged; 

* The creation and dissemination of knowledge is the purpose of copyright; 

* Congress is granted the power to encourage creation of new works, but only via a very specific method, by granting authors and inventors exclusive rights; 

* The exclusive rights granted should be for a limited time;  

* Authors and inventors can benefit financially from copyright but this is a side effect of encouraging the dissemination of knowledge, and not the direct intent of copyright; and  

* The rights of authors and inventors are granted by Congress and are not intrinsic or natural. 

Please send letters of nomination outlining a candidate's qualifications for this esteemed award to cwtennant@charter.net or to L. Ray Patterson Award Nominations, P.O. Box 1863, Auburn, AL 36831-1863.  Letters of nomination will be accepted through December 1, 2004.  

The L. Ray Patterson Copyright Award is awarded annually. Nominations will be reviewed by an award jury consisting of ALA members. Recipients will be awarded during the ALA Annual Conference.  Nominees for this award need not be limited to librarians.  

For questions or concerns, please contact Claudette Tennant, consultant to the Office for Information Technology Policy: cwtennant@charter.net or 334-707-9309.

Please pardon cross-postings and redistribute this notice as widely as deemed appropriate.



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ALA Washington Office, 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Suite 403, Washington, D.C. 20004-1701; phone: 202.628.8410 or 800.941.8478 toll-free; fax: 202.628.8419; e-mail: alawash@alawash.org; Web site: http://www.ala.org/washoff.  Executive Director: Emily Sheketoff. Office of Government Relations: Lynne Bradley, Director; Carol Ashworth, Don Essex, Joshua Farrelman, Erin Haggerty, Patrice McDermott and Miriam Nisbet. Office for Information Technology Policy: Rick Weingarten, Director; Carrie Lowe, Kathy Mitchell, Carrie Russell. ALAWON Editor: Bernadette Murphy.