IP: Mr. Hatch Opening Statement read it while there is time

[Dave Farber <farber () central cis upenn edu>]

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS (Senate - September 28,
1995)


THE NATIONAL INFORMATION INFRASTRUCTURE COPYRIGHT PROTECTION ACT


Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, today, together with my distinguished colleague
from Vermont, Senator Leahy, I am introducing the National Information
Infrastructure Copyright Protection Act of 1995, which amends the Copyright
Act to bring it up to date with the digital communications age.


The National Information Infrastructure or `NII' is a fancy name for what is
popularly known as the `information highway.' Probably most people today
experience the information highway by means of their computers when they use
electronic mail or subscribe to a bulletin board service or use other on-line
services. But these existing services are only dirt roads compared to the
superhighway of information-sharing which lies ahead.


The NII of the future will link not only computers, but also telephones,
televisions, radios, fax machines, and more into an advanced, high-speed,
interactive, broadband, digital communications system. Over this information
superhighway, data, text, voice, sound, and images will travel, and their
digital format will permit them not only to be viewed or heard, but also to
be copied and manipulated. The digital format will also ensure that copies
will be perfect reproductions, without the degradation that normally occurs
today when audio and videotapes are copied.


The NII has tremendous potential to improve and enhance our lives, by
providing quick, economical, and high-quality access to information that
educates and entertains as well as informs. When linked up to a `Global
Information Infrastructure,' the NII will broaden our cultural experiences,
and allow American products to be more widely disseminated.


Highways, of course, are meant to be used, and in order to be used, they must
be safe. That's why we have `rules of the road' on our asphalt highways and
that's why we need rules for our digital highway. No manufacturer would ship
his or her goods on a highway if his trucks were routinely hijacked and his
or her goods plundered. Likewise, no producer of intellectual property will
place his or her works on the information superhighway if they are routinely
pirated. We might end up having enormous access to very little information,
unless we can protect property rights in intellectual works. The piracy
problem is particularly acute in the digital age where perfect copies can be
made quickly and cheaply.


Protecting the property rights of the owners of intellectual property not
only induces them to make their products available, it also encourages the
creation of new products. Our copyright laws are based on the conviction that
creativity increases when authors can reap benefits of their creative
activity.


But the NII also promises to increase creativity in a more dramatic way by
providing individual creators with public distribution of their works outside
traditional channels. For example, authors who have been unsuccessful in
finding a publisher will be able to distribute their works themselves to
great numbers of people at very low cost.


The bill that I am introducing today begins the process of designing the
rules of the road for the information superhighway. It was drafted by the
Working Group on Intellectual Property Rights of the Information
Infrastructure Task Force. Chaired by the Honorable Bruce A Lehman, Assistant
Secretary of Commerce and Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks, the Working
Group labored for 2 years examining the intellectual property implications of
the NII to determine if changes were necessary to intellectual property law
and to recommend appropriate statutory language.


The Working Group drew upon the expertise of 26 departments and agencies of
the Federal Government; it heard the testimony of 30 witnesses and received
some 70 written statements from all interested parties. On July 7, 1994, it
produced a preliminary draft (`Green Paper'), which opened another period of
extensive testimony and comment. The Final Report, containing a draft of the
legislation that I am introducing today, was unveiled on September 5, 1995.


 The length and scope of the Working Group's investigation would alone
commend its recommendations to serious attention, but I have also studied the
legislation and find it an excellent basis for the Committee on the Judiciary
to begin its own examination of the issues with a view to fine-tuning the
solutions proposed by the Working Group.


The bill deals with five major areas:


(1) transmission of copies,


(2) exemptions for libraries and the visually impaired,


(3) copyright protection systems,


(4) copyright management information, and


(5) remedies.


In general, the bill provides as follows:


Transmission of Copies. The bill makes clear that the right of public
distribution in the Copyright Act applies to transmission of copies and
phonorecords of copyrighted works. For example, this means that transmitting
a copy of a computer


program from one computer to ten other computers without permission of the
copyright owner would ordinarily be an infringement.


Exemptions for Libraries and the Visually Impaired. The bill amends the
current exemption for libraries to allow the preparation of three copies of
works in digital format, and it authorizes the making of a limited number of
digital copies by libraries and archives for purposes of preservation.


The bill adds a new exemption for non-profit organizations to reproduce and
distribute to the visually impaired--at cost--Braille, large type, audio or
other editions of previously published literary works, provided that the
owner of the exclusive right to distribute the work in the United States has
not entered the market for such editions during the first year following
first publication.


Copyright Protection Systems. The bill adds a new section which prohibits the
importation, manufacture or distribution of any device or product, or the
provision of any service, the primary purpose or effect of which is to
deactivate any technological protections which prevent or inhibit the
violation of exclusive rights under the copyright law.


Copyright Management Information. `Copyright management information' is
information that identifies the author of the work, the copyright owner, the
terms and conditions for uses of the work, and other information that the
Register of Copyrights may prescribe. The bill prohibits the dissemination of
copyright management information known to be false and the unauthorized
removal or alteration of copyright management information.


Remedies. The bill provides for civil penalties for circumvention of
copyright protection systems and for tampering with copyright management
information, including injunction, impoundment, actual or statutory damages,
costs, attorney's fees, and the modification or destruction of products and
devices.


The bill provides criminal penalties for tampering with copyright management
information--a fine of not more than $500,000 or imprisonment of not more
than 5 years or both.


There is widespread support for the general thrust of the bill among
interested parties. However, during the hearing process, I am sure that
issues will arise that no one has yet anticipated. Already, some potential
discussion points have been identified: the scope of the library exemption
and the exemption for the visually impaired, the absence of criminal
penalties for circumvention of copyright protection systems, the use of
encryption as a copyright protection system, the application of the doctrine
of fair use, the development of efficient licensing models, and the liability
of on-line service providers.


In the interest of time, it may be that fuller discussion and solution may
have to be deferred for those points not covered expressly in the bill. The
fully commercial information superhighway is not yet here, and we must resign
ourselves to a period of experimentation. We want to be on the cutting edge,
not the bleeding edge of new technology.


Once again, I would like to commend the Working Group on Intellectual
Property Rights of the Information Infrastructure Task Force for providing an
excellent model for us to work with. I also recommend to all interested
parties that they read the full report of the Working Group. Without
endorsing any of the specific language of that report, I believe that it
provides useful background material for the recommended changes.


In conclusion, Mr. President, I would like to thank my colleague from
Vermont, Senator Leahy, for joining me in introducing this important
legislation.


Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a copy of this bill be printed in
the Record.


There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the Record,
as follows: