================================================================= ALAWON Volume 7, Number 73 ISSN 1069-7799 June 22, 1998 American Library Association Washington Office Newsline In this issue: (189 lines) ACTION NEEDED: COMMERCE COMMITTEE LEADERS SUPPORT DIGITAL FAIR USE; YOUR CALLS AND FAXES NEEDED BEFORE THE KEY MARKUP OF H.R. 2281 ON WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24 _________________________________________________________________ ACTION NEEDED: COMMERCE COMMITTEE LEADERS SUPPORT DIGITAL FAIR USE; YOUR CALLS AND FAXES NEEDED BEFORE THE KEY MARKUP OF H.R. 2281 ON WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24 BREAKING NEWS: It's working! Due largely to tremendous efforts by library supporters across the nation, historic progress was made last week in the Telecommunications Subcommittee of the House Commerce Committee to assure that the fair use (and other currently lawful use) of copyrighted information without the owner's prior authorization will remain possible in the digital environment, BUT THE KEY VOTE IS YET TO COME THIS WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24 (see BACKGROUND below). ACTION NEEDED: Now more than ever, it's critical that library advocates are heard on Capitol Hill in support of fair use and digital copyright legislation that continues to balance the needs of information owners and users. PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT, EVEN IF YOU'VE WRITTEN BEFORE, TO CALL AND FAX CONGRESS NOW (contact numbers follow). Here's how: 1. IF YOUR REPRESENTATIVE IS ON THE ATTACHED LIST OF HOUSE COMMERCE COMMITTEE MEMBERS, please call/fax them with the message below. NOTE: It's especially important that constituents of Committee Chairman Thomas Bliley, Jr. (R-VA), Ranking Democrat John Dingell (D-MI), Subcommittee Chairman Billy Tauzin (R-LA) and Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA) hear thanks and support from fair use advocates before June 24! * ASK THEM TO SUPPORT THE EFFORTS of Rep. Scott Klug (R-WI) and Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA) to protect fair use in cyberspace when the full Commerce Committee meets Wednesday, June 24 to vote on H.R. 2281. * ASK THEM TO OPPOSE H.R. 2281 if it is not so amended. * LET THEM KNOW THAT THE OXLEY AMENDMENT adopted in Subcommittee DOES NOT adequately protect fair use (see BACKGROUND below. The Oxley amendment does not address library and educational concerns, it would merely authorize studies on H.R. 2281's impact on fair use). 2. IF YOUR REPRESENTATIVE IS NOT ON THE HOUSE COMMERCE COMMITTEE LIST, please call/fax Committee Chairman Thomas Bliley, Jr.(R-VA) AND Ranking Democrat John Dingell (D-MI). * ASK THEM TO SUPPORT THE EFFORTS of Rep. Scott Klug (R-WI) and Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA) to protect fair use in cyberspace when the full Commerce Committee meets Wednesday, June 24 to vote on H.R. 2281. * THANK THEM FOR THEIR PAST SUPPORT of amending H.R. 2281 to protect fair use. _________________________________________________________________ HOUSE COMMERCE COMMITTEE St-Dst Pty Representative Phone FAX (Use 202 area code) CA-14 D Anna G. Eshoo 225-8104 225-8890 CA-27 R James E. Rogan 225-4176 225-5828 CA-29 D Henry A. Waxman 225-3976 225-4099 CA-47 R Christopher Cox 225-5611 225-9177 CA-49 R Brian P. Bilbray 225-2040 225-2948 CO-1 D Diana DeGette 225-4431 225-5657 CO-6 R Dan Schaefer 225-7882 225-7885 FL-6 R Clifford B. Stearns 225-5744 225-3973 FL-9 R Michael Bilirakis 225-5755 225-4085 FL-20 D Peter Deutsch 225-7931 225-8456 GA-9 R Nathan Deal 225-5211 225-8272 GA-10 R Charles W. Norwood 225-4101 225-0279 ID-2 R Michael D. Crapo 225-5531 225-8216 IL-1 D Bobby L. Rush 225-4372 226-0333 IL-14 R J. Dennis Hastert 225-2976 225-0697 IL-20 R John M. Shimkus 225-5271 225-5880 IA-4 R Greg Ganske 225-4426 225-3193 KY-1 R Edward Whitfield 225-3115 225-3547 LA-3 R W. J. Tauzin 225-4031 225-0563 MD-4 D Albert R. Wynn 225-8699 225-8714 MA-7 D Edward J. Markey 225-2836 MI-1 D Bart Stupak 225-4735 225-4744 MI-6 R Frederick S. Upton 225-3761 225-4986 MI-16 D John D. Dingell, Rnk. Mem. 225-4071 MO-5 D Karen McCarthy 225-4535 225-4403 NJ-6 D Frank Pallone 225-4671 225-9665 NY-2 R Rick A. Lazio 225-3335 225-4669 NY-7 D Thomas J. Manton 225-3965 225-1909 NY-10 D Edolphus Towns 225-5936 225-1018 NY-17 D Eliot L. Engel 225-2464 225-5513 NY-27 R Bill Paxon 225-5265 225-5910 NC-5 R Richard M. Burr 225-2071 225-2995 OH-4 R Michael G. Oxley 225-2676 OH-5 R Paul E. Gillmor 225-6405 225-1985 OH-6 D Ted Strickland 225-5705 225-5907 OH-13 D Sherrod Brown 225-3401 225-2266 OH-14 D Thomas C. Sawyer 225-5231 225-5278 OK-1 R Steve Largent 225-2211 225-9187 OK-2 R Thomas Allen Coburn 225-2701 225-3038 OR-1 D Elizabeth Furse 225-0855 225-9497 PA-4 D Ron Klink 225-2565 226-2274 PA-8 R James C. Greenwood 225-4276 225-9511 TN-6 D Bart Gordon 225-4231 225-6887 TX-4 D Ralph M. Hall 225-6673 225-3332 TX-6 R Joe Barton 225-2002 225-3052 TX-29 D Gene Green 225-1688 225-9903 VA-7 R Thomas J. Bliley, Chair 225-2815 225-0011 VA-9 D Rick Boucher 225-3861 225-0442 WA-1 R Rick White 225-6311 225-3524 WI-2 R Scott L. Klug 225-2906 225-6942 WY-1 R Barbara Cubin 225-2311 225-3057 _________________________________________________________________ BACKGROUND: In a June 17 meeting of the House Telecommunications Subcommittee to review amendments to flawed legislation to update copyright law for cyberspace (H.R. 2281), Reps. Scott Klug (R-WI) and Rick Boucher (D-VA) offered an amendment designed to confirm that the limitations on copyright owners' present rights under the Copyright Act, including fair use, also would apply to the new and presently unlimited right to control "access" to information proposed in H.R. 2281. [Reps. Boucher and Tom Campbell (R-CA) are co-authors of H.R. 3048 -- the alternative digital copyright legislation strongly endorsed by ALA and the Digital Future Coalition.] During discussion of the Klug/Boucher amendment, Committee Chairman Thomas Bliley, Jr. (R-VA) and Ranking Democrat John Dingell (D-MI) emphasized the importance of resolving this critical debate in a manner that assured that libraries, schools, universities and the public would not be forced to accept a "pay-per-use" system of acquiring and using information online or in electronic form. Rep. Dingell's remarks were particularly emphatic and helped frame the debate constructively for fellow members. Subcommittee Chairman Billy Tauzin (R-LA) also echoed this core library and educational concern, as he had during the Subcommittee's hearing of June 5. Following this discussion, Chairman Bliley urged Reps. Klug and Boucher to withdraw their amendment on the clear understanding that he was committed to bringing the parties together to negotiate a solution to the debate before the full Committee met to consider H.R. 2281 on Wednesday, June 24. The sponsors accepted the Chairman's offer and face-to-face negotiations began under the auspices of Reps. Bliley's and Dingell's staffs on June 19. THE OXLEY AMENDMENT: During the Telecommunications Subcommittee's mark-up, an amendment by Vice-Chair Michael Oxley (R-OH) was adopted. The Oxley amendment, in part, addressed fair use issues. However, it proposed no change in the Copyright Act to make clear that fair use would serve as a defense to the new crime of "circumvention" created by H.R. 2281 in the same way that it now serves as a defense to copyright infringement. Rather, the Oxley amendment simply required a periodic study of the impact of the H.R. 2281 on fair use. It does not, therefore, address library and educational concerns and is in no way an acceptable substitute for the statutory Klug/Boucher approach. _________________________________________________________________ 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. =================================================================