ALAWON: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline Volume 8, Number 10 January 28, 1999 In this issue: [1] Database Protection Debate Takes Shape in New 106th Congress [2] Copyright Office Hearing on Distance Education Held; Additional February Hearings Scheduled in Los Angeles and Chicago [1] Database Protection Debate Takes Shape in New 106th Congress ALAWON readers will recall that at the close of the 105th Congress last October, broad legislation to amend the nation's copyright laws was adopted. However, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (P.L. 105-304) did not include the House's H.R. 2652 -- a controversial measure for the protection of databases -- thanks to strenuous objections by the library, educational and scientific communities and many companies in the private sector. On January 19, Rep. Howard Coble (R-NC) reintroduced the Collections of Information Antipiracy Act in the 106th Congress as H.R. 354. Rep. Coble chairs the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property to which H.R. 354 has been referred. It is not clear whether Rep. Coble again plans hearings on his legislation. Two other actions also were taken on January 19 by key members of the Senate to advance the database protection debate: First, Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) placed into the Congressional Record (page S316) a neutral statement on three proposals: (1) the text of Rep. Coble's bill (H.R. 354), (2) an alternative bill drafted by a coalition of public and private sector groups (including ALA and several other major library organizations) who favor a narrowly tailored approach to database protection if any such legislation is to be enacted, and (3) another drafted last year by staff to Sen. Hatch. Attempts will be made in the coming months to forge a consensus among all stakeholders. Senate hearings are anticipated. Second, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-AZ) introduced a new bill (S. 95) intended to protect financial services companies from potentially overbroad database protection legislation. S. 95 states that no law "shall limit or inhibit the dissemination by any medium of mass communication of information compiled from a ticker or otherwise for transactions on a national securities exchange, to the extent that such information is excluded from copyright protection by section 103(b) of title 17, United States Code..." The bill marks the Senate Commerce Committee's first involvement in the database protection debate. [2] Copyright Office Hearing on Distance Education Held; Additional February Hearings Scheduled in Los Angeles and Chicago Whether and how to update the nation's copyright laws to foster distance education in the digital environments was also hotly debated in connection with the last Congress' consideration of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (P.L. 105-304). When late and intense negotiations between several major industries and library and educational representatives failed to produce agreement on how to modernize section 110 of the Copyright Act, the Senate Judiciary Committee included a clause in the DMCA requiring the Register of Copyrights to study the matter and to make recommendations to Congress by the end of April 1999. As previously reported, in an effort to determine the nature of distance education practice and delivery technology, the Copyright Office hosted a demonstration of distance education activities and commercially produced materials on January 25. These demonstrations were followed by a full day of hearings on January 26 and an additional panel of witnesses on January 27. A total of 22 witnesses from most major "copyright industries" and many spheres of the library and educational communities testified before Register of Copyrights Marybeth Peters and three members of her legal staff. James Neal, director of the Milton S. Eisenhower Library at The Johns Hopkins University and ALA Executive Board member, appeared on behalf of ALA, AALL, ARL, MLA and SLA. Without exception, industry representatives maintained that no modernization of current law is warranted or advisable given the increasing ease with which copyrighted materials may be licensed. Library and education representatives strongly supported such modernization, noting that the Copyright Act's current exemption does not apply to remote access to information through digital networks or to multimedia material. They also stressed that the exemption historically has been based upon Congress' desire to balance society's interests in copyright protection and robust education, not on the unavailability of educational materials for purchase or lease. The Copyright Office will next hold similar hearings in Los Angeles on February 10 and in Chicago on February 12. Any party interested in submitting comments to the Copyright Office may do so prior to February 5. Replies to those comments may be submitted through February 24. All submissions should be directed to: Sayuri Rajapakse, Attorney-Advisor Office of Policy and International Affairs U.S. Copyright Office Copyright GC/I&R P.O. Box 70400 Southwest Station Washington, DC 20024 For further information, please contact Adam Eisgrau, Legislative Counsel for the ALA Washington Office at 1-800-941-8478. ****** 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: Phyllis Albritton, Mary Costabile, Adam Eisgrau, Carol Henderson, Peter Kaplan, Claudette Tennant and Rick Weingarten.