ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


C&RL News ■ October 2002 / 669

W a s h i n g t o n  H o t l i n e
Lynne E. Bradley and 
M iriam  Nisbet

The fa ll agen da
Congress has outlined an aggressive agenda for 
the fall. Whether the House and Senate will be 
able to act on all the items before the Novem­
ber elections seems unlikely, though technically 
possible. A “must do” for Congress is to pass 
the FY 2003 A ppropriations bills. This is all 
amidst the cacophony o f debate over President 
Bush’s proposed Department of Homeland Se­
curity, the invasion o f Iraq, and antiterrorism 
efforts.

The library community has been seeking ad­
ditional funding for the Library Services and 
T echnology Act (LSTA) in the Labor, Educa­
tion, Health and Human Services appropria­
tions bill as well as needed funding for legisla­
tive branch appropriations, including the Gov­
ernment Printing Office (GPO). For the latest 
on LSTA and appropriations go to  http:// 
www.ala.org/washoff/alawon/a lwnl l69.html.

In addition, two copyright issues o f impor­
tance to librarians could move quickly through 
Congress this fall.

A n ti-c o u n te rfe itin g  le g is la tio n
S. 2395, the Anti-counterfeiting Amendments 
o f 2002, sponsored by Senator Joseph  Biden 
(D-Delaware), is intended to create liability for 
trafficking in illicit authentication features— a 
hologram, watermark, certification, symbol, 
code, or other means o f designating that the 
product to which the authentication feature is 
affixed is authentic. The bill could pose major 
problems for anyone exercising fair use.

The library community is concerned that the 
bill could adversely impact librarians using in­
terlibrary loan and making preservation copies 
of works. Potentially, if the TEACH Act is en ­
acted to update the copyright law for distance 
education, the distribution o f copyrighted ma­
terial without permission from the copyright 
owner could constitute a violation o f the anti­
trafficking provisions o f S. 2395. The kinds of 
works included in the bill are phonorecords,

Lynne E. Bradley is Office of Government Relations director 
of ALA's Washington Office, e-mail: leb@alawash.org and 
M iria m  N isb e t is A LA  L e g is la tiv e  C o u n cil, e- 
mail:mnisbet@alawash.org

computer programs, and motion pictures and 
other audiovisual works, all o f which could be 
included in otherwise exempt transactions.

This bill modifies the U.S. criminal code so 
that potential copyright infringement transac­
tions— or even exempt uses such as fair use—  
could be subject (via trafficking in illicit authen­
tication measures) to criminal penalties includ­
ing imprisonment. ACRL members are asked 
to contact their senators to let them know that 
this bill should not be passed until it receives 
careful analysis and until hearings are held. For 
additional background details and talking 
points, as well as information about the latest 
status o f the bill and who your senators are and 
how to contact them, see our Web site at http:// 
www.ala.org/washoff/alawon/alwnl l66.html or 
contact your Congressional offices through the 
U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121.

D atab ase p ro te c tio n
There have been extensive discussions through­
out the 107th Congress among staff members 
o f the House Energy and Commerce Commit­
tee and the House Judiciary Committee to draft 
a database protection bill that would be accept­
able to all stakeholders, including libraries and 
universities. There is no compromise legislation, 
although a bill may be introduced in the House 
this fall.

We have now learned that one o f the pri­
mary proponents o f a broad database protec­
tion bill has been  asking various senators to 
sponsor a bill that our database coalition would 
find highly objectionable. Here’s another criti­
cal issue for which w e need ACRL supporters 
to contact their senators and lobby to not move 
on any database protection bill without hear­
ings that include all stakeholders. Please let your 
senators and representative know that we b e­
lieve that current copyright laws are more than 
adequate to protect these interests.

Note: The debate over the proposed elimina­
tion o f PubSCIENCE continues. Follow this is­
sue and how ALA, in collaboration with ACRL, 
has responded to the latest salvos at: http:// 
www.ala.org/washoff/alawon/alwnll70.html. 
Special thanks to former ACRL President Susan 
Martin for her contributions to this effort. ■

http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon/
mailto:leb@alawash.org
mailto:mnisbet@alawash.org
http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon/alwnl
http://www.ala.org/washoff/alawon/alwnll70.html