Mime-Version: |
1.0 |
Sender: |
|
Subject: |
|
From: |
|
Date: |
Tue, 22 Sep 1998 22:42:44 -0400 |
Content-Type: |
text/plain; charset="us-ascii" |
Reply-To: |
|
Parts/Attachments: |
|
|
NINCH ANNOUNCEMENT
September 22, 1998
NATIONAL HUMANITIES ALLIANCE ALERT ON COPYRIGHT TREATIES
Database Legislation Included in House Bill
>Date: Mon, 21 Sep 1998 16:51:45 -0400 (EDT)
>From: John Hammer <[log in to unmask]>
>To: Multiple recipients of list <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: WIPO crunch
>
>
>21 September 1998
>
>TO: NHA Members and Friends
>FR: John Hammer
>
>RE: The crunch comes on WIPO
>
>
>There is urgent need for telephone calls or other communication with every
>member of the Senate concerning the about-to-begin conference on the
>implementation legislation for the WIPO treaties. Each senate office
>should receive communications carry the following message:
>
>
>DO NOT CONSIDER DATABASE LEGISLATION IN THE CONFERENCE ON IMPLEMENTING
>LEGISLATION FOR THE WIPO TREATIES (H.R.2281)
>
>
>RECENT BACKGROUND - Late last week, the Senate passed a bill numbered
>H.R.2281. H.R. 2281 is the number assigned by the House for its
>legislation to amend Title 17, United States Code, to implement the World
>Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty and the WIPO
>Performance and Phonograms Treaty.
>Slyly, the Senate struck all the House language after the treaty enactment
>clauses and inserted in its place the text of S. 2037, the WIPO
>legislation that passed the Senate in May.
>
>A conference is expected as early as Wednesday of this week will seek to
>reconcile differences between the two chambers' legislation. As reported
>on September 9, the House version of H.R. 2281 includes the entire
>"Collections of Information Antipiracy Act" (H.R. 2652) -- a way of
>securing a copyright-like protection for databases that is a) overly broad
>with potentially deleterious effects on science, education, and
>information; b) unlike copyright and patents, would grant open-ended
>ownership that could be extended in perpetuity; meaningless "fair use"
>provision because they do not apply to potential markets (i.e., most
>scholarly and educational research are writing for actual, if small,
>markets. The administration believes the legislation is unconstitutional
>but establishing that could take months...years.
>
>The measure is offered with very little debate, no hearings in the Senate
>and deserves to be examined as separate legislation in the next Congress.
>
>All members of the Senate may be reached through the Capitol Switchboard
>202/224-3121.
>
===============================================================
David L. Green
Executive Director
NATIONAL INITIATIVE FOR A NETWORKED CULTURAL HERITAGE
21 Dupont Circle, NW
Washington DC 20036
www-ninch.cni.org
[log in to unmask]
202/296-5346 202/872-0886 fax
==============================================================
See and search back issues of NINCH-ANNOUNCE at
<http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninch-announce/>.
==============================================================
|
|
|