ALAWON: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline Volume 8, Number 60 June 16, 1999 In this issue: House Commerce Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Database Bill; Action Needed -- Request Your Legislator Cosponsor H.R. 1858 On June 15 James Neal testified for several library associations in support of a targeted database protection bill at a hearing of the House Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade, and Consumer Protection on H.R. 1858, the Consumer and Investor Access to Information Act of 1999. According to the bill's sponsor, Commerce Committee Chairman Thomas Bliley (R-VA), the bill is designed to "make sure that compilers of information have sufficient incentive...But at the same time...to make sure that we do not lock facts up." Neal -- dean of University Libraries at Johns Hopkins University, an ALA executive board member and past president of the Association of Research Libraries -- testified on behalf of ALA, the Association of Research Libraries, the American Association of Law Libraries, the Medical Library Association and the Special Libraries Association. He said that H.R. 1858 struck a balance between the interests of selected database producers while ensuring that legitimate and appropriate access to factual information continues. His testimony focused on three key aspects addressed by the bill: (1) the need to preserve the fair use of information and to keep factual information in the public domain; (2) the need to promote the progress of science, education, and research; and (3) the need to provide safeguards against monopolistic pricing. He said the library associations support the narrow, targeted approach taken in H.R. 1858 to ensure that there are no negative or unintended consequences for the public and private sectors, including libraries, that properly rely on access to data and government works. The hearing was well attended by subcommittee members, including Subcommittee Chairman W. J. "Billy" Tauzin (R-LA), Ranking Minority Member Edward Markey (D-MA), and Full Committee Chairman Thomas Bliley (R-VA), the bill's sponsor. Following Neal's testimony, Rep. Tauzin, a regular bookmobile user in his youth, described the Internet as "a high-tech bookmobile." Tauzin later closed the hearing by noting that in getting the balance right, if this committee errs, it will be on the side of the free flow of information. In addition to Neal, the lively and fast-moving hearing included 10 witnesses. Witnesses from the U.S. Department of Commerce represented the Administration. Other witnesses were from the Computer & Communications Industry Association, AT&T Corp., Yahoo! Inc., Reed Elsevier Inc., the Eagle Forum, MCI Worldcom, the Agricultural Publishers Association, USADemocracy.com, and three higher education organizations (the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges, the Association of American Universities, and the American Council on Education). The Clinton Administration, according to Commerce Department General Counsel Andrew Pincus, supports legal protection against commercial misappropriation of collections of information, particularly since digital technology increases opportunities for abuse by "free-riders." The Administration's preliminary analysis of H.R. 1858 indicated the need for some changes. Pincus suggested the definitions of database, duplication, discrete section, and "in competition" could create both liability for insubstantial distribution from databases and a disincentive for investment in database development. Specific changes were recommended in these and several other areas of the bill, such as the need to establish a time limit of protection for no longer than 15 years. Pincus also expressed a concern that the exception in the bill for scientific, education, and research uses was ambiguous and possibly overbroad, and not sufficiently analogous to the fair use doctrine in copyright law. Two witnesses from Reed Elsevier Inc. (representing the Coalition Against Database Piracy) and Doane Agricultural Services Company (representing the Agricultural Publishers Association), clearly preferred H.R. 354, and said H.R. 1858 would provide neither necessary protections against piracy nor incentives needed to encourage database production. H.R. 1858 was introduced by the bipartisan leadership of the Commerce Committee (see the May 24 ALAWON vol. 8, no. 45). H.R. 1858 is very similar to the alternative approach targeted to parasitical copying of databases and to protection against piracy as suggested by a variety of library, education, research, and some commercial organizations. Several members asked witnesses questions relating to H.R. 354, the Collections of Information Antipiracy Act, which was recently approved by the House Judiciary Committee. The majority of witnesses seemed to agree with Edward Black, representing the Computer & Communications Industry Association, who said that if there were to be legislation on this issue, the approach in H.R. 1858 was far preferable to that of H.R. 354. James Neal's testimony is available on the ALA Washington Office Web site at http://www.ala.org/washoff/neal2.html A joint statement in support of H.R. 1858 signed by ALA, as well as other information about the bill, is available at www.databasedata.org ACTION NEEDED: Library supporters are urged to ask their own Representative to cosponsor H.R. 1858, of a targeted database protection bill -- especially library constituents of other members of the House Commerce Committee. If your Representative is already a cosponsor, please send a letter of thanks. Cosponsors of H.R. 1858 as of June 16 include: Phone Fax (area code 202) Rep. Thomas Bliley, Jr.(R-VA, 7th) 225-2815 225-0011 Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX, 6th) 225-2002 225-3052 Rep. John Dingell (D-MI, 16th) 225-4071 226-0371 Rep. John Kasich (R-OH, 12th) 225-5355 225-8190 Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA, 7th) 225-2836 226-0340 Rep. Michael Oxley (R-OH, 4th) 225-2676 Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-LA, 3th) 225-4031 225-0563 Rep. Edolphus Towns (D-NY, 10th) 225-5936 225-1018 ****** 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. 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