IP: letter from USACM (I am a member and a co-drafter of this

[David Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

November 25, 1997








President William J. Clinton
1600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20500




Dear President Clinton:




        The Association for Computing's U.S. Public Policy Committee
believes that the  "No Electronic Theft Act" (H.R. 2265), which is now
before you, does not adequately reflect the nature of the new digital
environment and will have a  negative impact on the rich scientific
communications that have developed on the Internet in many fields,
including computer science.  For this reason, we are asking you to veto the
legislation. We agree that copyright holders have a legitimate need to
protect their intellectual property.  However,  we are concerned that the
bill was rushed through both Houses of Congress without careful
consideration of its unintended consequences.




        We are concerned the Bill may:


*       Restrict scientists and other professionals from making their
research available on the Internet for use by colleagues and students.
Most scientists do not own the copyright on their own materials.  Instead,
that copyright ownership is retained by the scientific journal which
peer-reviews and publishes the research.  Under the No Electronic Theft
Act, an author who posts their research on the Internet, and whose
documents are frequently read on-line, could be subject to criminal
prosecution.  If the bill becomes law, scientists may have to choose
between having their work peer-reviewed or making it widely available.




*       Criminalize the transfer of information that is currently protected
under the U.S. 'fair use' doctrine.  Copyright law is derived from the U.S.
Constitution and is intended to advance "science and the useful arts."  The
fair-use doctrine protects reading and nonprofit copying and thus allows
scientists and educators to openly exchange information.  H.R. 2265 does
not explicitly protect the "fair use" priviledge which makes this open
exchange of scientific information possible.




*       Chill free speech in universities and research labs. The
terminology used in the Bill, including "willingly" and "for profit," are
not defined; it is unclear what the parameters of a criminally prosecutable
copyright infringement are.  As a result, it is likely that many
institutions will mandate that all copyrighted documents be removed from
the net to avoid having to defend copyright infringement prosecutions.


        We hope that you will veto this measure and ask you staff to work
with Congress during the next session to develop more sensible legislation.




Sincerely,






Dr. Barbara Simons Chair,
U.S. Public Policy Committee
Association For Computing




The Association for Computing (ACM) is the largest and oldest professional
association of computer scientists in the United States.  ACM's U.S. Public
Policy Committee (USACM) facilitates communication between computer
scientists and policy makers on issues of concern to the computing


community.


cc:     Vice President Albert Gore, Jr.
        Ira Magaziner, Senior Adviser to President
        Brian Kahin, Office of Science Technology and Public Policy.
        Henry J. Hyde, Chair, House Judiciary Committee
        John Conyers, Jr., Ranking Member, House Judiciary Committee
        Howard Coble, Chair, Courts and Intellectual Property Subcommittee,
House Judiciary         Committee
        Orrin G. Hatch, Chair, Senate Judiciary Committee
        Patrick J. Leahy, Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee
        John Ashcroft, Chair, Constitution, Federalism and Property Rights
Subcommittee, Senate    Judiciary Committee
        Mike DeWine, Chair, Antitrust, Business Rights and Competition
Subcommittee, Senate    Judiciary Comittee
        Representative Virgil H. Goode
        Representative Barney Frank, House Judiciary Committee
        Representative Christopher Cannon, House Judiciary Committee
        Representative William Delahunt, House Judiciary Committee
        Representative Elton Gallegly, House Judiciary Committee
        Representative Bob Clement




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Association for Computing,             +   http://www.acm.org/usacm/
Office of U.S. Public Policy           *   +1 202 544 4859 (tel)
666 Pennsylvania Ave., SE Suite 302 B  *   +1 202 547 5482 (fax)
Washington, DC 20003   USA             +   gelman () acm org


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