================================================================= ALAWON Volume 6, Number 119 ISSN 1069-7799 December 18, 1997 American Library Association Washington Office Newsline In this issue: (213 lines) -THE BOUCHER-CAMPBELL BILL (H.R. 3048) WHAT DOES IT DO? WHY DOES DFC SUPPORT IT? -THE ASHCROFT BILL (S. 1146) WHAT DOES IT DO? WHY DOES DFC SUPPORT IT? _________________________________________________________________ NOTE: This message, and important supporting material, has been transmitted in 3 parts. This ALAWON is part 3 of 3. NOTE: The Digital Future Coalition (DFC) is a coalition of library, education, public interest and industry organizations committed to balanced copyright policy. ALA helped to found the coalition and takes an active role in its work. THE BOUCHER-CAMPBELL BILL (H.R. 3048) WHAT DOES IT DO? WHY DOES DFC SUPPORT IT? Representatives Rick Boucher (D-VA) and Tom Campbell (R-CA) have introduced the only comprehensive bill in the U.S. House of Representatives that will maintain balance in the Copyright Act by preserving for consumers, educators, librarians, researchers, and other Netizens fundamental rights in the digital era. Like a similar bill introduced by Senator John Ashcroft (S. 1146), this comprehensive, balanced bill has the strong support of the DFC. If you agree with us that the House of Representatives should adopt the Boucher-Campbell bill instead of the legislation proposed by the Clinton Administration (H.R. 2281), we encourage you to send an e-mail to your elected Representative in the House. SECTION 1--TITLE. The bill is known as the "Digital Era Copyright Enhancement Act." FAIR USE. Section 2 would amend section 107 of the Copyright Act to reaffirm that a finding of "fair use" may be made without regard to the means by which a work has been performed, displayed, or distributed. Thus, just as teachers, librarians, and others may make "fair use" copies of portions of copyrighted works today in the analog world, they may do so tomorrow in the digital world. LIBRARY PRESERVATION. Section 3 would amend section 108 of the Copyright Act to allow libraries and archives to use new forms of technology to make three copies of endangered materials for archival purposes. FIRST SALE. Section 4 would amend section 109 of the Copyright Act to establish the digital equivalent of the "first sale" doctrine. Under current law, a person who has legally obtained a book or video cassette may physically transfer it to another person without permission of the copyright owner. Section 4 would permit electronic transmission of a lawfully acquired digital copy of a work as long as the person making the transfer eliminates erases or that copy of the work from his or her system at substantially the same time as he or she makes the transfer. DISTANCE LEARNING. Section 5 would amend sections 110(2) and 112(b) of the Copyright Act to ensure that educators can use personal computers and new technology in a broad range of educational settings in the same way they now use televisions to foster distance learning. In addition, Section 5 would broaden the range of works that may be performed, displayed, or distributed to include the various kinds of works that might be included in a multimedia lesson. EPHEMERAL COPIES. Section 6 would amend section 117 of the Copyright Act to make explicit that electronic copies of material incidentally or temporarily made in the process of using a computer or a computer network may not serve as the sole basis for copyright infringement liability, such as when a work is viewed on the World Wide Web. UNFAIR LICENSES. Section 7 would effectively preclude copyright owners from using non-negotiable license terms to abrogate or narrow rights and use privileges that consumers otherwise would enjoy under the Copyright Act, such as their fair use privilege, by preempting state common and statutory law, such as the proposed changes to the Uniform Commercial Code. BLACK BOXES. Section 8 would implement the anti-circumvention and copyright management information provisions of the WIPO Copyright Treaty and the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty. The treaties do not require the broad prohibition of software and devices that might be used by infringers as proposed in the legislation drafted by the Clinton Administration. Consistent with the treaties, section 8 would create liability only for a person who, for purposes of infringement, knowingly circumvents the operation of an effective technological measure used by a copyright owner to limit reproduction of a work in a digital format. The bill also would create liability for a person who knowingly provides false copyright management information or removes or alters copyright management information without the authority of the copyright owner, and with the intent to mislead or induce or facilitate infringement. _________________________________________________________________ THE ASHCROFT BILL (S. 1146) WHAT DOES IT DO? WHY DOES DFC SUPPORT IT? Senator John Ashcroft (Missouri) has introduced the only comprehensive bill that will maintain balance in the Copyright Act by preserving for consumers, educators, librarians, researchers, and other Netizens fundamental rights in the digital era. The bill contains three separate titles. They are summarized below. If you agree with us that Congress should enact this law instead of separate legislation proposed by the Clinton Administration, we encourage you to send an e-mail to Senators on the Judiciary Committee. TITLE I. OSP/ISP LIABILITY To foster the continued growth of the Internet, this portion of the bill would-- -clarify that merely providing network services and facilities for transmitting an electronic communication will not result in liability under the Copyright Act; -confirm that providing a site-linking aid, a navigational aid (including a search engine or browser), or the tools for creating a site-linking aid will not result in liability under the Copyright Act; -clarify that Internet and on-line service providers will not be liable for third-party copyright infringement unless they have received notice and have a reasonable opportunity to limit the third-party infringement; and -confirm that an employee of an educational institution, library, or archives will not be deemed to have received notice and thus will not be required to "take down" an allegedly infringing work if she believed the use was a fair use or otherwise lawful. TITLE II. TECHNOLOGY FOR TEACHERS AND LIBRARIANS Section 202 would amend section 107 of the Copyright Act to reaffirm that a finding of "fair use" may be made without regard to the means by which a work has been performed, displayed, or distributed. Thus, just as teachers, librarians, and others may make "fair use" copies of portions of copyrighted works today in the analog world, they may do so tomorrow in the digital world. Section 203 would amend section 108 of the Copyright Act to allow libraries to use new forms of technology to make three copies of endangered materials for archival purposes. Section 204 would amend section 110(2) and 112(b) of the Copyright Act to ensure that educators can use personal computers to foster "distance learning" in a broad range of educational settings in the same way they use televisions in traditional classrooms today. Section 205 would amend section 117 of the Copyright Act to make explicit that electronic copies of material incidentally or temporarily made in the process of using a computer or a computer network may not serve as the sole basis for copyright infringement liability, such as when a work is viewed on the World Wide Web. TITLE III. WIPO IMPLEMENTATION Sections 1201 and 1202 would implement provisions of two international copyright treaties adopted by the World Intellectual Property Organization. The WIPO treaties oblige signatory nations to offer legal protection against circumvention of technology intended to protect copyrighted material against infringement, but do not require the broad prohibition of software or devices that might be used by infringers. Section 1201 would only create liability for a person who--for purposes of infringing a copyrighted work--knowingly circumvents the application of an effective anti-copying measure used to protect a work in a digital format. In contrast, the legislation proposed by the Clinton Administration at the urging of Hollywood and other content owners could outlaw new PCS and digital VCRs, and frustrate the fair use rights of information consumers. Section 1202 would create liability for a person who knowingly provides false copyright management information or who removes or alters copyright management information without the authority of the copyright owner. _________________________________________________________________ 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 Eisgrau All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. =================================================================