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FC: Law libraries oppose UCITA, now targeting Maryland Senate
From: Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>
Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2000 10:41:29 -0500
[Forwarded with permission, phone numbers removed] *********
Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2000 08:43:13 -0500 From: "Mary Alice Baish" <BAISH () wpgate law3 georgetown edu> To: declan () well com Subject: UCITA Dear Declan,As a lobbyist for the American Association of Law Libraries, I am grateful for all your work in keeping us informed about very important Internet-related issues.Have you heard much about UCITA? We in the library community established a coalition last fall (www.4cite.org) which now includes consumer groups, insurance companies and other businesses, to stop UCITA from enactment.Despite lots of hard work, it was recently enacted in VA and on Tuesday was passed by the Maryland House of Delegates after lengthy debate, 83-50. It's now up to the Senate Finance Committee working group to determine the next step. The legislative session ends on April 10th and UCITA is heavily supported by the leadership.As you know, MS, AOL and the mega-publishers are the key proponents of the bill; Hollywood and others got their carve-out just as they did in VA. Consumers and libraries are going to be harmed if this measure passes; in a nutshell, our major concern is that UCITA replaces the public law of copyright with the private law of contract.I would be pleased to share more info with you. Other contacts are: James Neal, Dean of Libraries, Johns Hopkins (410.xxx.xxxx); Prof. Charles Shafer--consumer issues (410.xxx.xxxx); Jon Band--reverse engineering (202.xxx.xxxx)Also, UCITA was to have been part of the UCC until the American Law Institute dropped out last spring in opposition to NCCULS's draft and the process behind it. One of the most comprehensive web sites to find out more of the history and opposition is at: www.badsoftware.comI hope that you might look into this and write a piece about UCITA that will help inform folks and get them up in arms, especially in Maryland.Sincerely, Mary Alice Baish ===================================== Mary Alice Baish Associate Washington Affairs Representative E.B. Williams Law Library Georgetown University Law Center 111 G Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20001-1417 Voice: 202.662.9200 Fax: 202.662.9202 E-mail: baish () law georgetown edu Internet: www.ll.georgetown.edu/aallwash
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- FC: Law libraries oppose UCITA, now targeting Maryland Senate Declan McCullagh (Mar 30)