ALAWON: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline Volume 7, Number 145 November 19, 1998 In this issue: ACTION NEEDED: COPYRIGHT OFFICE REQUESTS INFORMATION FOR DISTANCE EDUCATION STUDY BY WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25 As required by the new Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the Copyright Office at the Library of Congress has initiated its study of how to promote distance education through the use of digital technologies while maintaining an appropriate balance under copyright law between the rights of copyright owners and the needs of users of copyrighted works. In a November 16 Federal Register notice (see v63, n223, November 16, 1998, pp. 63749-50) of request for information, the Copyright Office seeks to identify all interested parties and determine what matters those parties deem relevant and important. This will help the Copyright Office determine what additional activities on its part will be helpful and appropriate. The law requires the Copyright Office to submit recommendations to Congress at the conclusion of this process. Such recommendations may include legislative changes. The new law also requires the Register of Copyrights to consult with representatives of copyright owners, nonprofit educational institutions, libraries and archives and to focus on a series of factors. The Copyright Office Web site at http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/fedreg/promo.pdf contains the full text of the notice of request for information. Responses are due by December 7, 1998. To help the library community respond, a summary of the study on distance education and digital technologies provision of the new law is available on the ALA Washington Office Web site at http://www.ala.org/washoff/copyright.html. This summary was prepared by Arnold Lutzker of Lutzker & Lutzker LLP, an attorney and specialist in intellectual property and new technology who is a consultant to ALA and other library groups. The ALA Washington Office and Office for Information Technology Policy will be working with the Association of College and Research Libraries and the ACRL Distance Education Section, as well as other expertise in ALA, and other library and education organizations, to provide input to the Copyright Office. It would be helpful if librarians active in providing library and information resources to support distance learning activities, especially through use of digital technologies, or who can identify any barriers (technological or legal) to such activities, would identify themselves to ACRL if appropriate or to the ALA OITP. It would also assist ALA in providing input to the Copyright Office to receive copies of any responses to the November 16 notice. The ALA Office for Information Technology Policy can be reached at oitp@alawash.org or at 1-800-941-8478, or by fax at 1-202-628-8424. To contact ACRL, e-mail or call Michael Godow, mgodow@ala.org or 1-800-545- 2433, ext. 2510. For best input to planning, please make these contacts by Wednesday, November 25, 3:00 p.m. Chicago (central) time. ****** ALAWON (ISSN 1069-7799) is a free, irregular publication of the American Library Association Washington Office. All materials subject to copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits. To subscribe to ALAWON, send the message: subscribe ala-wo [your_firstname] [your_lastname] to listproc@ala.org or go to http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon. To unsubscribe to ALAWON, send the message: unsubscribe ala-wo to listproc@ala.org or go to http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon. ALAWON archives at http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon. 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. Editor: Lynne E. Bradley; Managing Editor: Deirdre Herman; Contributors: Mary Costabile, Adam Eisgrau, Anne Heanue, Carol Henderson, Peter Kaplan, Claudette Tennant and Rick Weingarten.