IP: H.R. 2652--"Collections of Information Antipiracy Act"

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

March 5, 1998


Representative Howard Coble
Chairman
House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property
2239 Rayburn House Office Building
United States House of Reprsentatives
Washington, D.C. 20515


Dear Chairman Coble,


        We are writing to express our concern about H.R. 2652, the
"Collections of Information Antipiracy Act." The Association for Computing
(ACM) recognizes the need to protect investments made in large data
collections. However, the proposed legislation fails to recognize the
legitimate needs of academic, professional, scientific, and ordinary users
of data. Therefore, we believe that the legislation, as currently drafted,
is generally not in the interests of the computing profession or of the
general public.


        The ACM is the largest, international professional association of
computer scientists with 60,000 members in the United States.  We have a
particular interest in the development of intellectual property policies
that serve a broad mission. We believe that such policies should ensure the
continued vibrancy of not-for-profit publishers, students, researchers, and
the general public, even as they seek to protect commercial investments.
Sensible legislative proposals should promote the "Progress of Science and
the Useful Arts" by allowing exemptions for public-good uses in libraries,
universities, and laboratories. They should not establish perpetual
protection for data while eliminating the "fair use" upon which the
research community is heavily dependent.


        ACM has developed considerable expertise in the copyright issues
associated with the creation of electronic databases. The ACM publishes
many journals, some of which include research results derived from data
collection.  Additionally, ACM has an on-line searchable database.  Under
the proposed legislation, the extraction of a substantial unauthorized "use
in commerce" of the data compilations will be prohibited if it would "harm"
the original compiler's market. Thus, the owner of the data compilation
will have the authority to determine which users may access the data if
more than a "substantial" amount of data from the compilation is requested.
This limitation on the use of data is contrary to the traditional
scientific research model. In the U.S., data collections are routinely
reused and revised in the course of scientific and academic research
without royalties being exchanged. The bill also includes an overly broad
definition of what constitutes "information" and no definition of
"substantiality."  This, too, could have a chilling effect on academic
research and publication.




        The fair use provisions in H.R. 2652 fall far short of the
exemptions necessary to permit researchers to verify others' results,
educators to demonstrate models in classrooms, scientists to make use of
government databases, and other traditionally protected uses. Such "full
and open" use of data is indispensable to effective and accurate research.
The fair use provisions allow only extractions which do "not harm the
actual or potential market for the product." "Full and open" is defined in
the scientific community as data and information derived from publicly
funded research which is made available with as few restrictions as
possible, on a nondiscriminatory basis, for no more than the cost of
reproduction and dissemination.  The inadequate fair use provisions in H.R.
2652 do not meet this definition.  Furthermore, this also impacts citizens,
who currently have the right to full and open access to data from databases
created by their government and by organizations funded by the government,
no matter if someone else has also published the data.


        H.R. 2652 would create proprietary rights in compilations of
scientific information which are now in the public domain; thus,
unauthorized extraction or use of this information, of the kind which
scientists are accustomed to make today, would appear to harm the market
for the compilation as a matter of definition.  For example, all the names
and numbers registered with NSF's contractors (Network Solutions and ISI)
pertaining to the Internet are freely accessible. The public can access
such data for any legal reasons, including operating Internet routers and
directory services. The extraction of data from this compilation could be
limited by H.R. 2652.  Naturally, this principle extends to all sorts of
financial and other data which major publishers resell.


        We recognize it is important to protect investments made in data
collection.  However, we do not believe it has been demonstrated that
further legislation is necessary.  The "Collections of Information
Antipiracy Act" is overly broad in its application of the misappropriation
doctrine and will affect both the computing community and scientific
research generally. We believe that there are alternative technical
approaches that may better serve the interests of users of new digital
technologies. We would be very pleased to work with you on a study of these
issues.


        We would look forward to working with you on this effort.  If you
have any questions, please contact Lauren Gelman at 202/544-4859.


Sincerely yours,


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


cc:     House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property
        Rep. Henry J. Hyde, Chairman, House Judiciary Committee
        Rep. John Conyers, Jr., Ranking Member, House Judiciary Committee
        Rep. Newt Gingrich, Speaker of the House, U.S. House of
Representatives
        Rep. Richard Armey, Majority Leader, U.S. House of Representatives
        Rep. Richard Gephardt, Minority Leader, U.S. House of Representatives
        Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., Chairman House Science Committee


        Rep. George Brown, Ranking Member, House Science Committee
        Rep. Vernon Ehlers, Vice Chairman, House Science Committee
        Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee
        Sen. Patrick J. Leahy, Ranking Minority Member, Senate Judiciary
Committee




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