================================================================= ALAWON Volume 6, Number 80 ISSN 1069-7799 September 19, 1997 American Library Association Washington Office Newsline In this issue: (122 lines) HOUSE HEARINGS ON WIPO TREATY IMPLEMENTATION SHOWCASE COPYRIGHT CLASH _________________________________________________________________ HOUSE HEARINGS ON WIPO TREATY IMPLEMENTATION SHOWCASE COPYRIGHT CLASH; IMPORTANCE OF PRESERVING FAIR USE PRIME TOPIC OF DEBATE Two days of hearings this week (Sept. 16 & 17) before Chairman Howard Coble's (R-NC) Courts and Intellectual Property Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee made clear just how intense the debate is over whether the United States must or should change its own copyright laws to be consistent with the World Intellectual Property Organization treaties and, if so, how to change them. (See ALAWON, Jan. 14 & Aug. 1, 1997.) The hearings were convened specifically to solicit views on the Administration's proposed legislation to implement the treaties, H.R. 2281 (S. 1121), and on H.R. 2180, legislation by Mr. Coble concerning the degree to which an on-line or Internet service provider (OSP or ISP) should be liable to a copyright owner for infringing activities by the provider's users, or for linking to Internet sites that include infringing information. For purposes of the OSP/ISP debate, libraries and educational institutions could be subjected to the same kind of copyright infringement penalties as commercial service providers, such as America On-Line or Prodigy. President Clinton's proposed legislation to implement the WIPO treaties in the U.S. has proven to be extremely controversial. While strongly supported by a coalition of major entertainment, software, publishing and multimedia corporations, the bill is opposed by ALA and the other members of the Digital Future Coalition (DFC) (http://www.dfc.org), major consumer electronics manufacturers, and significant organizations representing telecommunications and high-technology companies. Significantly, Rep. Rick Boucher (D-9th VA) took the opportunity of the hearings to announce that he will soon introduce legislation in the House that will not seek to ban devices as a means of implementing the WIPO treaties. Rather, his legislation will focus on punishing conduct that infringes copyright in the digital environment. Rep. Boucher also indicated that he is actively considering including in his legislation language that would update the Fair Use and First Sale doctrines and afford librarians and educators access to the latest preservation and distance education technology. Prof. Robert Oakley, Director of the Georgetown University Law Center's library, testified Tuesday, Sept. 16, regarding OSP/ISP liability issues on behalf of ALA and 22 other library, educational and scholarly organizations. On Wednesday, Sept. 17, the importance of continued access to devices necessary to engage in fair use and exercise other user privileges under the Copyright Act, such as library preservation and distance education, was at the core of Digital Future Coalition testimony delivered by Dr. Douglas Bennett, President of Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. Focussing on H.R. 2281, the Administration's WIPO implementation proposals, he observed that: "H.R. 2281 is both more and less than the WIPO proceedings and sound public policy require it to be. What the bill contains is gravely flawed and what it omits is critical to industry and society as a whole." He explained that, "while the DFC supports the WIPO treaties, it strongly opposes H.R. 2281 as drafted and believes that broadly supported implementation legislation should be acted prior to ratification of the WIPO treaties." Dr. Bennett, on behalf of the DFC, endorsed S. 1146, comprehensive legislation recently offered by Senator John Ashcroft (R-MO) as an example of a bill that, "would ensure that the copyright-related interests of educators, librarians, high-technology businesses, and other information consumers are balanced with the protections properly afforded to copyright owners and proprietors." NEXT STEPS: IMMEDIATE SENATE AND HOUSE CONTACTS REQUESTED... Librarians in the vicinity of *Richmond, Virginia* are urged to contact the office of Rep. Rick Boucher (D-9th VA) to thank him for his leadership in copyright liability and his intent to introduce legislation that will update provisions of the Copyright Act critical for libraries' and schools' use of digital technology. Faxes to Rep. Boucher's Washington Office should be sent to 202-225-0442. E-Mail messages to ninthnet@hr.house.gov also are strongly encouraged. Also, as announced in ALAWON, Sept. 4, 1997, librarians in EVERY STATE are encouraged to contact their Senators and urge them to cosponsor S. 1146, Sen. John Ashcroft's "Digital Copyright Clarification and Technology Act of 1997." Missouri residents are especially encouraged to contact Sen. Ashcroft's office (Fax: 202-228-0998; E-Mail: john_ashcroft@ ashcroft.senate.gov) to thank the Senator and his staff for their strong pro-library stance on these critical digital copyright matters. For more information, please consult the Digital Future Coalition website at http://www.dfc.org or contact Adam Eisgrau of the ALA Washington Office at 800-941-8478. _________________________________________________________________ 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 Deirdre Herman, Managing Editor Contributors: Adam M. Eisgrau Claudette W. Tennant All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. =================================================================