ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


3 0  /  C&RL News m January 1998

W a s h i n g t o n  H o t l i n e Lynn E. Bradley

C y b e r - C o p y r ig h t  b ills  p e n d in g
Current federal copyright law now strikes a 
balance betw een protecting the legitimate 
interest o f information owners and affording 
public and educational access to copyrighted 
information. Last amended comprehensively 
in 1976, the Copyright Act is once again the 
subject o f legislative debate as Congress 
wrestles with how to preserve that balance 
in the process o f updating the law for a digi­
tal age. Librarians and educators have both a 
tremendous stake in the outcom e o f this 
Acyber-copyright@ debate and a great op­
portunity to help assure that it is resolved in 
a way that maximizes the benefits o f the In­
ternet for the millions o f Americans w e serve.

T w o com prehensive bills are pending 
before Congress that would update copyright 
law in a way that preserves its essential bal­
ance. Sen. Jo h n  Ashcroft’s (R-Missouri) “Digi­
tal Copyright Clarification and Technology 
Education Act” (S. 1146) and Reps. Rich 
Boucher’s (D-Virginia) and Tom Campbell’s 
(R-California) “Digital Era Copyright Enhance­
ment Act” (H.R. 3048) propose a broad range 
o f changes to current copyright law that will 
be critical if libraries and educational institu­
tions are to live up to their potential as the 
“on-ramps” to the Internet for patrons, schol­
ars, students, and researchers everywhere.

S p e c ific a lly , b o th  th e A sh cro ft and 
Boucher/Campbell bills would amend the 
Copyright Act to make clear that: 1) the Fair 
Use Doctrine applies in the digital environ­
ment; libraries and archives may use digital 
technology to preserve endangered materi­
als and may make three preservation copies 
(provided that only one is available for use 
at a given time); 2) educators engaged in 
distance or asynchronous learning may use 
computer networks to remotely distribute a 
broader range o f materials directly related to 
a defined curriculum to students enrolled in 
their classes; 3) electronic copies o f material 
incidentally or temporarily made in the pro­
cess o f using a computer network may not

Lynne E. Bradley is d e p u ty  executive d ire c to r o f  ALA’s 
Washington Office; e-mail: leb@alawash.org

serve as the sole basis for copyright infringe­
ment liability; and (3) individuals who de­
liberately use a computer network to violate 
copyright should be subject to substantial civil 
(but not criminal) liability, but that it should 
not b e  unlawful to manufacture valuable 
devices with multiple purposes (e.g., per­
sonal computers or the next generation of 
video recorders) even if some may employ 
those devices for illegal purposes. (Librar­
ians and educators must have access to such 
devices to actually take advantage o f fair use 
or other privileges afforded them under the 
Copyright Act.)

In addition to these shared provisions, the 
pending bills also contain unique clauses 
important to libraries and educational insti­
tutions. S. 1146, for example, would assure 
that libraries and nonprofit educational insti­
tutions will not b e liable for copyright in­
fringement based solely on their users’ ac­
tivities, while H.R. 3048 would make clear 
that the “first sale doctrine” (the part o f the 
Copyright Act that libraries rely on to loan 
materials) applies to online information as 
well as printed matter.

ALA strongly backs, and is committed to 
passage of, both Senator Ashcroft’s bill and 
the proposal by Reps. Boucher and Campbell 
(H.R. 3048). Neither bill, however, will be 
enacted without your senators’ and repre­
sentatives’ support. Accordingly, ALA urges 
all ACRL members to contact their senators 
and representatives immediately to request 
th a t th e y  c o s p o n s o r  th e  A sh cro ft and 
Boucher/Campbell bills, respectively. Please 
write, fax, e-mail, and call them today and 
encourage others in your library to do so.

Let Congress know that you care about 
updating copyright law for all Americans. Li­
braries’ effectiveness and vitality in the 21st 
century depends on them …  and on you. 
For information about contacting your sena­
tors and representatives and further back­
ground on this critical legislation, please con­
sult the Web site o f the D igital Future 
Coalition’s at http://www.dfc.org or contact 
Adam Eisgrau, legislative counsel for ALA’s 
Washington Office, at (202) 628-8410. ■

http://www.dfc.org
mailto:leb@alawash.org