================================================================= ALAWON Volume 7, Number 91 ISSN 1069-7799 August 6, 1998 American Library Association Washington Office Newsline In this issue: (128 lines) HOUSE PASSES WIPO IMPLEMENTING LEGISLATION WITH CONTROVERSIAL DATABASE PROTECTION MEASURE; FAIR USE PROTECTION KEY TO COMPROMISE _________________________________________________________________ HOUSE PASSES WIPO IMPLEMENTING LEGISLATION WITH CONTROVERSIAL DATABASE PROTECTION MEASURE; FAIR USE PROTECTION KEY TO COMPROMISE On August 4, almost one year to the day after the Clinton Administration first sent legislation to implement World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) copyright treaties, the House approved by voice vote a substantially altered version of that bill, H.R. 2281. However, the bill contains other intellectual property legislation -- including overbroad database protection legislation strongly opposed by ALA and many others. The House action, made possible by intensive talks between the House Commerce and Judiciary Committees, paves the way for negotiations with the Senate over whether or in what form the President may have the chance to consider the bill this fall. House Commerce Committee Chairman Thomas Bliley (R-VA) highlighted the importance of the Committee's insistence on including "a strong fair use provision to ensure that consumers -- as well as libraries and institutions of higher learning -- will be able to continue to exercise their historical fair use [and other] rights." Reps. John Dingell (D-MI), Scott Klug (R-WI) and Rick Boucher (D-VA) were instrumental in crafting and retaining protection for fair use in H.R. 2281. Regarding the database portions of the package, Chairman Bliley added, "[L]et me say that it is my hope that the House and Senate Judiciary Committees will work to address the serious concerns of many in public and private sector bodies. Congress needs to address those concerns before enacting this portion of the bill." Floor action on H.R. 2281 had been stalled after the Commerce Committee on July 17 approved a very different bill than the one approved by the House Judiciary Committee in April. For example, the Commerce Committee iteration included provisions designed to specifically protect fair use (see BACKGROUND below), encryption research, the development of consumer electronic equipment and personal privacy. The logjam apparently was broken when the Judiciary Committee agreed to accept the Commerce Committee's changes to H.R. 2281 in return for the Commerce Committee's agreement to other intellectual property legislation -- including overbroad database protection legislation -- in a new version of the bill placed before the House. While no formal Senate action on this legislation will be possible until they reconvene on August 31, informal negotiations among constituencies affected by the database protection proposals have already begun. Despite the House action, the possibility remains that proponents of the Administration's original bill will seek to eliminate or weaken critical clauses of H.R. 2281. THANKS: ALAWON readers and others who have responded to the many Action Alerts issued during the past year may and should take great pride in the prominence of fair use, the public interest in the House debate over this legislation, and the Commerce Committee's strong actions to protect it. The ALA Washington Office wishes to express its congratulations and thanks to all of those who have fought so hard for so long to achieve some measure of balance in the WIPO copyright legislation -- and who may yet need to do so again this fall. BACKGROUND: Summary of H.R. 2281 "Fair Use" Protection Regime and Related Provisions -- Creates a statutory prohibition, effective 2 years after enactment, on the "circumvention" of any "effective technological protection measure" used to control "access" to a copyrighted work; -- Requires the Secretary of Commerce, in consultation with others (including a newly created "Undersecretary of Intellectual Property Policy"), to conduct a formal rulemaking proceeding in the two years after enactment, and every three years thereafter, to permit members of the public or institutions to demonstrate actual or likely "adverse effects" on all user privileges and rights stemming from the use of such technological measures to restrict access to any "class" of copyrighted works; -- Requires the Secretary to issue a three-year waiver of the anti-circumvention prohibition where more than de minimis adverse effect, or likely effect, is shown; -- Requires the Secretary, in the course of rulemaking to examine several factors, including (but not limited to): the availability of copyrighted works for use, preservation or educational purposes; the impact of the anti-circumvention prohibition on traditional fair use activities, such as criticism and news reporting; and the effect of circumvention on the market for or value of copyrighted works. _________________________________________________________________ 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: Carol C. Henderson All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. =================================================================