IP: more on BILL TO LIMIT DATABASE PIRACY INTRODUCED

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

> To: Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>
> Subject: [T-142 (Coble)  BILL TO LIMIT DATABASE PIRACY INTRODUCED 
> Date: Sun, 21 Mar 1999 14:30:17 EST
> From: Joshua Lederberg <jsl () rockvax rockefeller edu>
>
> Dave, on this subject, here is the testimony I gave Thursday
>
> Feel free to disseminate to interesting-people if you think
> that is warranted.
>   Josh
>
>
>                              Oral Testimony
>
>                             Joshua Lederberg
>                            President-emeritus
>                          Rockefeller University
>
>                               18 March 1999
> .fi
>
> My name is Joshua Lederberg. I am grateful to Chairman Coble for this
> opportunity to comment on the "Collections of Information Antipiracy Act"
> on behalf of the Academies and the AAAS. Our written testimony for the
> record will elaborate on the legal issues.
>
> With my own voice, I offer you the perspectives of a professor and former
> president at Rockefeller University; from a long career as researcher in
> molecular genetics, and bioinformatics; as an adviser to government science
> agencies and scientific publishers; and not least as a creator and active
> user of both commercial and nonprofit scientific databases. I remain an
> adviser to such enterprises, but I am here formally representing only the
> Academies and AAAS.
>
> Access to and use of factual data is essential to furthering our
> understanding of nature, to medical and technical progress, and to the
> validation of scientific claims. Indeed, the currently thriving public
> domain for data, fostered by government policies that nourish research and
> guarantee full and open access to data, benefits all downstream users,
> including the commercial database industry.
>
> At this time, barring instances of gross piracy, there is no crisis in the
> development of new databases: commercial or otherwise. Significant legal,
> technical, and self-help protection measures to protect proprietary
> databases are already available. We support the adoption of new diplomatic
> initiatives and legal measures to address egregious wholesale database
> piracy.  However, we are opposed to responses to those grievances which go
> beyond solving that problem, and would erect unprecedented and unjustified
> new rights in factual data.  These would undermine our nation's successful
> research and education system, and put a heavy hand on the scale of
> legitimate competing interests.  We appreciate the two changes that were
> made to H.R. 354 since last year's bill, but along with the Administration
> and other notable critics, we find the legislation as currently proposed
> still needs substantial remediation.
>
> Our objections to H.R. 354 include:
>
> o   An overly and unnecessarily broad scope of protection for factual data
> -- one that would supersede copyright for collections of works of
> authorship;
>
> o   An insufficient carveout for not-for-profit scientific and educational
> users;
>
> o   An incomplete government data exemption, particularly for government
> databases disseminated by the private sector;
>
> o   The retroactive application of the legislation;
>
> o   The unduly long term of protection in light of the breadth and depth
> of the scope of protection;
>
> o   The blanket prohibitions on traditionally legitimate commercial
> value-adding uses;
>
> o   The lack of reasonable limitation on the inordinate market power
> conferred by this legislation on sole-source data providers;
>
> and
>
> o   Absent or vague definitions of important terms.
>
>
> Together with a broad cross-section of research, education, library and
> consumer groups, as well as many commercial publishers and database
> providers, we would prefer alternative legislation such as "The Database
> Fair Competition and Research Promotion Act of 1999" that:
>
> o   Targets database piracy by focussing on true unfair competition
> principles, without creating unprecedented new property rights in data and
> unwarranted control in downstream uses of data;
>
> o   Maintains a reasonable balance between the interests of database
> producers and users, including legitimate and economically important
> value-adding activities;
>
> o   Preserves essential public interest uses, including customary
> scientific, educational, and library activities;
>
> o   Adheres to all Constitutional principles; and
>
> o   Provides protection against monopolistic pricing by sole-source data
> vendors in situations where competition breaks down as a preferred approach
> to balancing economic interests.
>
> If this simpler and properly focused alternative is not taken, then a much
> more complex bill, like the one that was in the course of being drafted in
> the Senate Judiciary Committee negotiations last summer, would need to be
> used. The Academies and the AAAS remain committed to working with Congress
> on developing a well reasoned and balanced database protection bill that
> serves the interests of our nation.
> Thank you.