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Urgent Action needed--Database legislation (fwd)

fyi
--Eric

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 98 11:19:03 CST
From: gkirsch@ncte.org

   Dear Colleagues,
   
   There is considerable alarm within the academic community that the 
   proposed database legislation would harm scholars and the 
   development of knowledge because it would prohibit the reuse of 
   information (databases) in different venues.  
   
   Please take the time to make one phone call to your Senator, 
   Capitol Switchboard 202/224-3121. Each senate office should receive 
   the following message:
   
   Do *not* consider database legislation in the conference on         
   implementing legislation for the WIPO Treaties (H.R.2281).
   
   The attached message from John Hammer (National Humanities 
   Alliance) provides details. Thank you, Gesa Kirsch
   
   ______________________________ForwardHeader________________________
   
21 September 1998
   
TO:   NHA Members and Friends

FR: John Hammer <jhammer@cni.org>
   
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.
   
   

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