Bringing Copyright Law Into the Digital Age

A HOUSE-SENATE conference the week of October 5th took up a long-contentious bill to bring copyright law into the digital age. In an editorial, the Washington Post stated that

...nearly everyone agrees that copyright laws ought to work in the Internet-borne future much as they have in the past. That is, to protect the makers of intellectual property, whether novels or movies or software, while still preserving free movement of information and its availability for cultural and educational use without licensing.

The issues that have dogged the lawmakers lie in the details of translating that balance of protections into cyberspace. In this new world, "intellectual property" of all kinds has become wildly lucrative, and corporations that own and distribute it have greater and greater reach. On the other side, unauthorized copying via computer is far easier and can virtually eliminate the market for a digitized movie or recorded song. That has left the conference committee struggling with warring House and Senate approaches to 'fair use,' shorthand for uses of copyrighted material for which no permission is required -- quoting published material for comment or criticism, reading a book, borrowing a book from a library or copying an article for personal research.

TO: Directors of ARL Libraries
In the few days remaining before the Congressional recess, the House and Senate are pressing to complete as many pieces of copyright legislation as possible.

• Yesterday, the House and Senate passed the copyright term extension legislation which includes an exemption for libraries while extending protection from life plus 50 to life plus 70 years.

• The Senate passed the WIPO implementing legislation conference report today which we have been assured does not include the database legislation.  The House is expected to act shortly.  Other Titles and provisions that we understand are in the legislation include:
  • Title I - legislation to implement the WIPO Copyright Treaties which primarily focuses on anti-circumvention and copyright management information concerns.  The House-Senate conference committee retained the House-passed version of fair use though the Librarian of Congress will conduct the rule making in lieu of the Secretary of Commerce.

  • Title II: legislation to establish copyright liability standards for online service providers (OSP).  There are new provisions relating to higher education and OSP negotiated by AAU.

  • Title III: Computer Maintenance and Repair Copyright Exemption - legislation regarding the status of temporary copies.

  • Title IV: "Miscellaneous Provisions" including provisions relating to preservation activities for libraries and archives, and a provision calling for "recommendations on how to promote distance education through digital technologies..while maintaining the appropriate balance between the rights of copyright owners and needs of users of copyrighted works."
  In addition to deleting Title V, "Collections of Information Antipiracy Act," ( the database bill) other provisions of interest to the library community which were deleted by the conferees include:
  • Section 414 which would strike language from Section 107, the Fair Use Doctrine.

  • Section 417 which would have overturned a Supreme Court case relating to the first sale doctrine. The Shared Legal Capability wrote to the conferees requesting that these provisions be deleted from the conference report.
  Senator Hatch, chair, Senate Committee on the Judiciary, has promised proponents of the database legislation that the issue of protection of databases will be a priority in the 106th Congress.  That should hopefully allow for the needed time to develop a broad consensus on balanced legislation.

Prue Adler, Assistant Executive Director

   Federal Relations and Information Policy

   Association of Research Libraries

   21 Dupont Circle, N.W.

   Washington, D.C.   20036

      (202) 296-2296

      FAX: (202) 872-0884

      Internet: prue@arl.org