Many are concerned, however, with the prospect of governments "over-protecting" intellectual property (the Minimalists); while others are nervous about the possibility of having little or no protection for the creators and owners of intellectual works "published" on the Internet (the Maximalists).

In December of 1996 the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) revised its Copyright Treaty in an effort to preserve and apply copyright standards and principles to the digital environment. How will this impact copyright in cyberspace? The U.S. Congress, the White House, the private sector, as well as the public sector are all examining a variety of digital copyright propositions that will most benefit proprietors and consumers. But how should intellectual property be protected? What safeguards, for instance, are necessary to protect public access traditionally offered by libraries and academic institutions?

Those involved with the cyberspace copyright debate are now realizing that striking a balance between consumer rights (such as maintaining free access to government web sites) with the rights of entrepreneurs is a difficult juggling act with dire consequences.

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EFF Action Alert on H.R. 2651 -- The Databse Copyright Bill -- May 4, 1998
The Collections of Information Antipiracy Act is due to hit the floor for a congressional vote on May 5, 1998. This action alert describes the bill and suggest action to take to stifle its passage.
Coble-Hatch Bill Passes Senate-Judiciary Committee  --  April 30, 1998
The controversial Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) passed the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill was amended to remove industry objections to the reverse engineering restrictions and provisions that made on-line service providers liable for copyright infringements on their sites.

        Related News from Wired News Service  -- April 30, 1998

From Porn Sites to Domain Fees, Trademarks in Turmoil on Web  -- April 27, 1998
A review of several new domain name copyright issues. The article looks at the emerging dispute between the owners of the Citigroup site and the merged company of Citicorp and Travelers Group. Also contains an examination of the troubles big corporations are having protecting their trademarks from being used by pornographic wbe sites.
Net Piracy: You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet -- April 23, 1998
Internet software piracy is growing at 700 percent a year and could make traditional forms of
piracy appear quaint by comparison, according to the Business Software Alliance.
12 Year Old Wins Domain Name Patent Dispute  -- April 23, 1998
Christopher Van Allen, or "Pokey" to his family and friends, has won a legal battle with Prema toys, the legal owner of the Gumby and Pokey line of toys. Christopher was fighting to retain ownership of his domain, pokey.org. Art Clokely, inventor of the Gumby and Pokey toys recently found out about the lawsuit and ordered Prema's lawyers to withdraw their case. For more information about the case, read an earlier story.
AAAS Urges Delay on H.R. 2652 -- April 20, 1998
The AAAS recently sent a letter to Newt Gingrich, urging congress to delay action on the bill until such a time that the impacts to American science can be adequately considered.
Tribunal Torpedoes "Cyber Pirate"  --  April 17, 1998
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals orders a man to stop his practice of registering Net        addresses and offering to sell them to the companies that rightfully hold the trademarks.
The court rejected the defendant's claim that a domain name is nothing more than an address, arguing "a significant purpose of a domain name is to identify the entity that owns the Web site."
Copyright Protection or Copyright Perversion? -- April 7, 1998
A copyright protection bill designed to guard the intellectual property of software companies has whipped up a storm of criticism from a number of the very folks it was supposed to benefit. Software industry representatives argue that the restrictions in H.R. 2281 (the WIPO implementation legislation) against reverse engineering would preserve the dominance of industry leaders such as Microsoft.
U.S. Writer, Scientist ask for animal-human patent -- April 2, 1998
Jeremy Rifkin, a long time opponent of genetic engineering experiments, and Stuart Newman, a cellular biologist at New York Medical College, have teamed up to apply for a intellectual property patent on creating animal-human 'chimeras'. Their novel intent is to use the patent to legally prevent anyone from doing these kinds of experiments.
Congress Pushes Copyright Bills -- April 1, 1998
News article from CNET that covers the current status of two intellectual property bills currently in Congress: HR2281 which would ratify international treaties on intellectual property, and HR3209, the On-Line Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act.
Maximum Copyright, Minimum Use -- March 31, 1998
A look at the resurgence of restrictive copyright legislation in Europe by Pamela Samuelson. The copyright debate in Europe is important for Americans to watch because "if copyright maximalism prevails in Europe, Clinton administration officials may try to resurrect similar legislation that has been stalled in Congress for the last two years."
EFF Effector Update on House Resolution 2281   -- March 27, 1998                        According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the House "WIPO Copyright Treaties Implementation Act" (H.R. 2281) would over regulate emerging technologies, outlaw reverse engineering and encryption security measures, and roll back fair use privileges. This Action Alert describes the bill and suggest action to take to stop it.
Berkman Center Opens New Course on Intellectual Property   -- March 25, 1998      Harvard Law Professor William Fisher's experimental cybercourse on Intellectual Property in Cyberspace opened for registration on Wednesday, March 25. Registration is free but the class size will be limited. Reading assignments and background materials will be available to the public.
Encoding the Law into Digital Libraries  -- March 1998
A new article by panel director, Pamela Samuelson, in the March issue of Communications of the ACM. Samuelson explains the unique challenges of digital libraries for copyright law and the need for 'technologists' to take part in the legal discussions. NOTE: An ACM account and password is required to view the online document.
U.S. ACM Letter on H.R. 2652 -- March 5, 1998
Letter written in opposition to the "Collections of Information Antipiracy Act". The ACM U.S. Public Policy Committee believes that H.R. 2652 would impose substantial limitations on the "fair-use" of academic databases that would unnecessarily impinge academic progress and freedom. From ACM's collection of Copyright and Intellectual Property information.
The Good, Bad, and the Ugly, of Copyright Law Rewrites  -- January 8, 1998
An excellent overview of recent copyright legislation in congress by David Loundy for the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin.
The Cathedral and the Bazaar -- June 1997
Eric Raymond's influential paper on open source development philosophy that convinced Netscape's Jim Barksdale to release the software code for Netscape Communicator 5.0.

Organizations  

General Interest

American Committee for Interoperable Systems
ACIS was created to support policies and principles of intellectual property which
provide a careful balance between the goals of strong protection and rewards for
innovation and the goals of interoperability, fair competition, and open systems.
The Society for Information Management
The Society for Information Management is an international organization for top
information executives including chief information officers, vice presidents of information services organizations, and key staff members from leading U.S. and international
corporations and government agencies. Other members are noted educators,
researchers, and systems executives at institutions of higher learning.
American Society for Information Science
The ASIS is a society for information professionals and academics from such fields as
computer science, linguistics, management, librarianship, engineering, law, medicine,
chemistry, and education; sharing a common interest in improving the ways society
stores, retrieves, analyzes, manages, archives and disseminates information.
The Internet Society
The Internet Society is an international organization for global cooperation and
coordination for the Internet and its internetworking technologies and applications.
Members reflect the breadth of the entire Internet community and consist of individuals, corporations, non-profit organizations, and government agencies.

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Mailing Lists

The Law and Policy of Computer Communications
CYBERIA- L@listserv.aol.com

Send the following message to listserv@listserv.aol.com
subscribe cyberia-l Firstname Lastname

EFFector-Online
US-based Electronic Frontier Foundation's biweekly newsletter covering
privacy rights, freedom of speech in digital media, intellectual property, and other
issues related to computer-based communications media.

Send the following message to listserv@eff.org
subscribe effector-online

Intellectual Property Caucus Discussion List
The Conference on College Composition and Communication's Caucus on Intellectual
Property and Composition Studies' list on intellectual property law, copyright and related legal and political issues affecting the work of scholars of rhetoric and communication; issues related to teaching, writing, research, and publishing, including fair use and distribution of text.

Send the following message to listserv@rhet.agri.umn.edu
subscribe cccc-ip Firstname Lastname

Computers in Law

Send the following message to info-law-request@brl.mil or
info-law- request@brl.mil.arpa

subscribe info-law Firstname Lastname

Legal Bytes

Quarterly newsletter from the Texas law firm of George, Donaldson & Ford;
intellectual property, copyright, computer communications and related topics.

Send the following message to legal-bytes-Request@io.com
subscribe legal-bytes.

Union for the Public Domain

One is called UPD-DISCUSS, for unmoderated discussions of UPD issues. The second is called UPD-ANNOUNCE, which is like a newsletter, for occasional alerts or notices about things like UPD elections or changes in by-laws. The third is called DB-ACTION, which is an unmoderated discussion list devoted exclusively to discussion of the database "extraction rights" issue.

To subscribe to these mailing lists, send a note to LISTPROC@ESSENTIAL.ORG
with messages like
 
         sub UPD-DISCUSS <your name>
         sub UPD-ANNOUNCE <your name>
         sub DB-ACTION <your name>

E-CARM -- Electronic Commerce and Rights Management

E-CARM is an electronic forum for the discussion of secure transactions, competing rights management models, the challenges posed by the buying and selling of intangible goods, measurement and accountability, and other related issues.

To subscribe, send a message to  e-carm-request@lists.kc-inc.net
with just the keyword 'SUBSCRIBE' in the body.

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Government Organizations
 
U.S. Department of Commerce
Engages in a variety of trade promotion activities such as conducting international
markets and opening access across nations while ensuring the intellectual property rights of U.S. businesses.
U.S. Copyright Office
Adheres to the U.S. Constitution and promotes the progress of science and useful arts by securing for limited times to authors and investors the exclusive right to their respective
writings and discoveries.
U.S. Patents and Trademarks Office
Currently advocates stringent new rules that would further protect copyright holders in a global digital environment.
U.S. Federal Communications Commission
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission, as an independent government agency, encourages competition in all communication markets, protects the public interest, and develops as well as implements policy which guides converging interstate and international communications like radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable.
World Intellectual Property Organization
Passed in 1996, the WIPO is an international copyright treaty that intensified copyright
protection on the Internet.
 
Private Interest/Industry Organizations
 
Creative Incentive Coalition
The Creative Incentive Coalition represents individuals and organizations supporting copyright on the Internet and ratification of two new international treaties adopted at the World Intellectual Property Organization Diplomatic Conference in Geneva in 1996. These treaties require nations around the world to strengthen copyright laws and would extend copyright protections to cyberspace.
Intellectual Property Owners
IPO is the only association that represents the interests of all owners of intellectual property. IPO differs from bar associations by focusing exclusively on protecting rights of ownership of property. Although it has attorney members, IPO does not deal with issues relating to private practice of law. IPO represents the broadest possible range of interests in ownership.
Software Publishers Association
The Software Publishers Association (SPA) seeks to promote and protect the computer software industry in legal and policy debates by lobbying government
officials, organizing grass roots activism and participating in landmark legal
decisions.
Business Software Association
The Business Software Alliance (BSA) promotes the continued growth of the     software industry through its international public policy, enforcement, and education     programs in 65 countries throughout North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America,     the Middle East and Africa. Founded in 1988.

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USACM Copyright
USACM contributes to the development of policy governing copyright and intellectual
property in electronic media as well as tracking national and international legislation in
the field.
Electronic Frontier Foundation
A non-profit civil liberties organization that works in the public interest to protect
privacy, free expression, and access to public resources and information on-line, as well as promotes responsibility in new media. They maintain an extensive archive of relevant Intellectual Property documents and articles.
Digital Future Coalition (DFC)
The Digital Future Coalition is committed to striking an appropriate balance in law and
public policy between protecting intellectual property and affording public access to it.
Representing over 2 million Americans, the DFC is the result of a unique
collaboration of 39 of the nation's leading non-profit educational, scholarly, library, and
consumer groups, together with major commercial trade associations representing
leaders in the consumer electronics, telecommunications, computer, and network
access industries.
Home Recording Rights Coalition
The Home Recording Coalition is a coalition of consumers, consumer groups, trade
associations, retailers and consumer electronics manufacturers, dedicated to preserving
your right to purchase and use home audio and video recording products for
noncommercial purposes.
American Research Libraries Federal Relations and Information Policy Program
They monitor activities resulting from legislative, regulatory, or operating practices of
international and domestic government agencies and other relevant bodies on matters of concern to research libraries; prepares analyses of and responses to federal information policies; influences federal action on issues related to research libraries; examines issues of importance to the development of research libraries; and develops ARL positions on issues that reflect the needs and interests of members.
Union for the Public Domain
A public advocacy group that attempts to preserve and broaden the public domain while maintaining a balance between 'fair use' and intellectual property. They also maintain an excellent page of resources on the current database extraction bill, H.R. 2652.
Center for Democracy and Technology
The CDT advocates public policies that advance constitutional civil liberties and
democratic values in new computer and communications technologies.
Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility
CPSR is a public interest alliance of computer scientists and others interested in the
impact of computer technology on society. CPSR provides current information on the
Telecom Bill and the Communications Decency Act, on the Clipper Chip, on Caller-ID, on privacy and civil liberties in cyberspace, and intellectual property.
Negativland
Home page for the band Negativland. After losing a highly publicized lawsuit with the
band U2 over the issue of sampling, they have become strong and vocal advocates
of an expanded concept of fair-use. They maintain an excellent collection of resources
and commentaries on the issue of intellectual property rights.
Free Software Foundation
Famous foundation started by Richard Stallman to give away the software for GNU, a free version of UNIX. Argues all software should be free and advocates a 'copyleft' standard for web publications.
American Libraries Association
The ALA tracks and influences intellectual property law and policy ALA by maintaining a vigorous program to defend libraries' rights to shelve and circulate materials
representing all points of view to all people regardless of race, religion, age, national
origin or social and political views.

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Documents

General/Overview

Online Fair Use of Copyrighted Material: Issues and Concerns
Gérard Martin's discussion of the effect the World Wide Web will have on the "fair-use" doctrine.
Intellectual Property: The Practical and Legal Fundamentals
A thorough introduction to the legal and practical elements of intellectual property
rights. Written by Thomas G. Field of the Franklin Pierce Law Center.
An Introduction to American Intellectual Property Law
An in-depth and technical introduction to the intricacies of intellectual property law.
Intellectual Property Rights and Cyberspace Law Reviews On-Line
A comprehensive collection of law reviews and journals online from FindLaw.com.
Intellectual Value
Esther Dyson evaluates the effect the free flow of information will have on our concept
of intellectual property rights.
The Information Economy
An extensive guide to resources on economics of the Internet, information goods, intellectual property, and related issues. Created and maintained by Hal Varian, Dean and Professor, Berkeley SIMS.

Maximalists/Clinton Administration Views

A Framework for Electronic Commerce
This White House paper advocates a non regulatory, market based approach to
electronic networks.
Intellectual Property and the National Information Infrastructure (The White Paper)
The Clinton administration's position on copyright policy on the internet. This report supports the protection of emerging digital works and the decline of fair use.
The Report of the Working Group on Intellectual Property Rights
Written by the President's NII task force, this study concluded that electronic
commerce would flourish best if the government did not regulate the Internet.

Minimalists/"Fair Use" Proponents

The Copyright Grab
In this article Pamela Samuelson argues that "the White Paper in fact seeks to implement
the maximalists agenda partly by rewriting the copyright statute and partly by
aggressively interpreting existing law. Yet we should also not assume that these
copyright maximalists are good judges of what's in their long-term best interest. Pushing
through legislation mandating the maximalist vision before there is public consensus in
support of it could backfire by eroding the public's faith in the essential fairness of
copyright law." Also, read a response to this article from John Newcomb on behalf of the Creative Incentive Coalition.
Designing a Web of Intellectual Property
The authors, Terje Norderhaug and Juliet Oberding, make a strong case for a
proactive effort by Web technology designers to increase intellectual property
protections.
Economy of Ideas
A thought provoking critique of our current emphasis on intellectual property rights.
Barlow argues persuasively that propety law will fail because "digital technolgy is
detaching infromation from the physical plane where [it] has always found definition."
Also read responses to his article.
Why Software Should not Have Owners
Thought provoking article from the Free Software Foundation on the benefits to software development of free distribution.

Pending Legislation

H.R. 2652 - Collections of Information Antipiracy Act -- Status
Collections of Information Antipiracy Act - Amends Federal copyright law to make persons who extract, or use in commerce, a substantial part of a collection of information gathered or maintained by another person through the investment of substantial resources, so as to harm the other person's actual or potential market for a product or service that incorporates such information and is offered in commerce liable to the person for remedies under this Act.
 
Rep. Coble's Introduction of H.R. 2652 in the Congressional Record
 
H.R. 3048 - Digital Era Copyright Enhancement Act -- Status
A bill to update and preserve balance in the Copyright Act for the 21st Century; to advance
educational opportunities through distance learning; to implement the World Intellectual Property Organization Copyright Treaty and Performances and Phonograms Treaty, and for other purposes.
 
Rep. Boucher's Introduction of H.R. 3048 in the Congressional Record
 
S. 1146 - Digital Copyright Clarification and Technology Act  -- Status
Digital Copyright Clarification and Technology Education Act of 1997 - Title I: Digital Copyright Clarification - Amends Federal copyright law to absolve a person of liability for direct, vicarious, or contributory copyright infringement arising out of: (1) providing electronic communications network services or facilities with respect to infringement by a user; (2) supplying a private electronic communication for which such person lacks the technical ability or authority to access or disclose such communication to a third party or supplying real-time communication formats; or (3) supplying a user of network services or facilities with a site-linking aid or directory, a navigational aid, or the tools for creating a site-linking aid.
 
Senator Ashcroft's Introduction of S. 1146 in the Congressional Record
 
H.R. 2281 and S. 1121 - WIPO Treaties Implementation Act -- Status
WIPO Copyright Treaties Implementation Act - Amends Federal copyright law to grant copyright protection to: (1) sound recordings that were first fixed in a treaty party (a country or intergovernmental organization other than the United States that is a party to specified international copyright and other agreements); and (2) pictorial, graphic, or scuptural works incorporated in a building or other structure or an architectural work embodied in a building located in the United States or a treaty party.
 
Senator Hatch's introduction of S. 1121 in the Congressional Record
 
H.R. 2180 - On-Line Copyright Liability Limitation Act  -- Status
On-Line Copyright Liability Limitation Act - Amends Federal copyright law to exempt a person from being liable for direct infringement, or vicariously liable for the infringing acts of another, based solely on transmitting or otherwise providing access to material on-line, if the person does not: (1) initially place the material on-line; (2) generate, select, or alter the content of the material; (3) determine the recipients of the material; (4) receive a financial benefit directly attributable to a particular act of infringement; (5) sponsor, endorse, or advertise the material; and (6) know, and is not aware by notice or other information indicating, that the material is infringing, or is prohibited by law from accessing the material.
 
Rep. Coble's Introduction of H.R. 2189 in the Congressional Record

Legislation Enacted

1997 WIPO Copyright Treaties
Telecommunications Act of 1996
 

• Tasini vs. The New York Times (1997)

According to the National Writers Union this "is the landmark lawsuit brought by
members of NWU against The New York Times Company, Newsday Inc., Time Inc.,
Lexis/Nexis, and University Microfilms Inc., charging copyright violation regarding the
electronic reuse of work produced and sold on a freelance basis. For decades, when
freelance writers sold stories to American publications it was understood by all
concerned that they were selling only First North American Serial rights which allowed
the newspaper or magazine to publish the story in print one time. For freelance authors, retention of all other copy rights is crucial to their economic survival because a
significant additional source of income comes from their ability to sell secondary rights
such as syndication, translations, anthologies, and so forth, to other publications. Yet
parent companies of electronic media claim, without justification, that by
purchasing First North American Serial rights they automatically gain electronic re-
publication rights" (1997).
• Religious Technology Center and Bridge Publications Inc. v. Netcom (1997)

The copyright holder and publisher, respectively, of the Church of Scientology materials have sued Netcom and a church dissident for copyright and trade secret violations because the dissident used his Netcom account to post church teachings (news.com).
• Sega vs. Accolade(1990)

This case affirmed the right of software developers to decompile software for
compatibility purposes. This right however is currently under siege. According to
Pamela Samuelson, "the White Paper [and several copyright legislation currently on the
Hill] doesn't mention the decompilation and interoperability case law at all. Lehman and the maximalist software publishers who used to be his clients continue to believe that
decompilation is and should be illegal. They are hoping to overturn the decompilation
case law indirectly by the white paper's endorsement of some changes to commercial
law that would validate common terms in shrink-wrap licenses, such as prohibitions on
decompilation"(1995).

1790: US Constitution
Copyright law in the US is derived from English copyright law (Statute of Anne) and common law. The framers of the U.S. Constitution made copyright law purely federal: "The Congress shall have power . . . to promote the progress of science and useful arts . . . by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive rights to their respective writings and discoveries." Congress subsequently enacted the Copyright Act of 1790 and major revisions to it in 1831, 1870, 1909, and 1976.
1841: Folsom vs. Marsh
This case is the source of the fair use doctrine in the United States. At issue was use of George Washington's private letters in the creation of a fictionalized biography of the President without the permission of the owner of the letters. The court found that there was not an infringement and in handing down the decision Justice Storey stated: "In short, we must often, in deciding questions of this sort, look to the nature and objects of the selections made, the quantity and value of the materials used, and the degree in which the use may prejudice the sale or diminish the profits, or supersede the objects, of the original work."
1886: Berne Convention
The goals of the Berne Convention provide the basis for mutual recognition of copyright between sovereign nations in foreign works and promote development of international norms with regard to copyright protection. The Convention was a diplomatic joiner of European nations seeking to establish a mutually satisfactory uniform copyright law to replace the need for separate registration in every country. It has been revised five times since 1886. Of particular note are the revisions in 1908 and 1928. In 1908, the Berlin Act set the duration of copyright at life of the author plus 50 years, expanded the scope of the act to include newer technologies, and prohibited formalities as a prerequisite of copyright protection. In 1928, the Rome Act first recognized the moral rights of authors and artists - giving them the right to object to modifications or to the destruction of a work in a way that might prejudice or decrease the artist's reputation. In 1988, the United States became a Berne signatory.
1909: Revision of the U.S. Copyright Act
A major revision of the U.S. Copyright Act was completed in 1909. Key aspects of this revision are: a broadening of the scope of categories protected to include all works of authorship, and an extension of the number of years in a renewal term (14-28) for a total of 56 years of protection. With this legislation, the attention is focused away from regulating the marketplace to proprietary rights. In addressing new categories of materials available for copyright the Congress addressed the difficulty of balancing the public interest with proprietor's rights.
1976: Revision of the U.S. Copyright Act
The 1976 revision was undertaken for two primary reasons. First, technological developments and their impact on what might be copyrighted, how works might be copied, and what constituted an infringement needed to be addressed. Second, the revision was undertaken in anticipation of Berne Convention adherence by the U.S. It was felt that the statute needed to be amended to bring the United States into accord with international copyright law, practices, and policies. The 1976 Act preempted all previous copyright law in the United States. The Act covered the following areas: Scope and Subject Matter of Works Covered, Exclusive Rights, Copyright Term, Copyright Notice and Copyright Registration, Copyright Infringement, Fair Use and Defenses and Remedies to Infringement. With this revision, for the first time the fair use and first sale doctrines were codified, and copyright was extended to unpublished works.
1986: Maxtone-Graham vs. Burtchaell
Burtchaell wrote a book that aimed to educate the public about abortions. He sought and was denied permission to excerpt from a book by Maxtone- Graham that contained interviews with women about their experiences with pregnancy and abortion. The court found in favor of the defendants in all four fair use factors.
1987: Salinger vs. Random House
A second circuit appeals court found that use (not copying but quoting or paraphrasing) of unpublished materials in an unauthorized biography of J.D. Salinger was not fair use.
1988: Berne Convention
The United States became a Berne signatory and it was effective in Statutory law. The major changes for the U.S. copyright system as a result of Berne were: greater protection for proprietors, new copyright relations with 24 additional countries, and elimination of the requirement of a copyright notice on a copyrighted work.
1990: Circulation of Computer Software
Congress amended the Copyright Act to prohibit commercial lending of computer software. The amendment noted that libraries could lend software provided "copy of a computer program which is lent by such library has affixed to the packaging containing the program a warning of copyright." This amendment is a modification of the first sale doctrine.
1990: Immunity of State Governments
Congress amended the Copyright Act to ensure that state universities would not be immune from being sued for monetary damages in federal court. State and private universities are now subject to the same copyright regulations, and may be sued for copyright infringement. (The eleventh amendment to the U.S. constitution precludes states from being sued in federal courts.)
1991: Fiesta Publications v. Rural Telephone Service Co., Inc.
The Supreme Court found that the compilation of a telephone directory by Fiesta was not an infringement even though it was compiled from the information in the Rural Telephone Service White Pages. The information in the white pages was not copyrightable because it is public information.
1992: Amendment to Sec. 304 of Title 17
Amendment to Sec. 304 of Title 17 that made copyright renewal automatic, and, by that means alone, dramatically curtailed the entry into the public domain of works protected by copyright before 1978.
1993: Playboy Enterprises Inc. v. Fern
The courts held that the Playboy's distribution rights were infringed when one of their photographs was digitized and placed on an electronic commercial bulletin board system by one subscriber and downloaded by another subscriber.
1993: NII Initiative
The Working Group on Intellectual Property Rights was established to explore the application and effectiveness of copyright law and the NII. The NII is described as "a seamless web of communications networks, computers, databases, and consumer electronics." (Information Infrastructure Task Force, National Telecommunications and Information Administration, National Information Infrastructure: Agenda for Action, 1993).
1994: Campbell v. Cuff-Rose Music, Inc.
The Supreme Court ruled that a rap parody of Roy Orbison's song, "Pretty Woman," was a fair use. The court found that a commercial use could be a fair use especially when the markets for an original work and a transformative work may be different.
1994: Working Group's Green Paper
The Working Group sponsored a series of activities to solicit input on copyright issues and the NII. These included public hearings and in June 1994, a draft NII report was circulated for comment and review (the Green Paper). Part of the review process included three hearings (held in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington, DC) hosted by the Working Group, where members of the stockholder community presented statements of reaction to the Green Paper. AL submitted a response to the Green Paper and was represented by a witness at all three hearings.
1994: CONFU.
In addition to making legislative recommendations in the White Paper, the Working Group sponsored a Conference on Fair Use (CONFU). Established in September 1994, CONFU is the venue for development of guidelines for Fair Use in the electronic environment. CONFU participants have been working toward development of guidelines for a number of areas including: interlibrary loan, electronic reserves, visual images, and distance education.
1995: Religious Technology Center v. Netcom
A federal judge in California has ruled that Netcom may be held liable for copyright infringement because the company did not remove copyrighted materials posted by a subscriber. The judge's ruling included an important distinction: that Netcom may be liable for "contributory" copyright infringement, not direct or vicarious infringement.
1995: S. 989 and H.R. 483
A Copyright Term Extension bill under consideration in Congress would add 20 years to the term of copyright protection for almost all published works, and at least 10 years to the term of protection for unpublished ones. A rationale for implementing this legislation is to bring U.S. law into line with the international community - especially other Berne signatories.
1995: Release of the White Paper
The culmination of the NII Working Group's efforts was release of the White Paper, in September 1995. The White Paper contains recommendations to amend the Copyright Act of 1976 and presents a lengthy legal analysis of current copyright law. Late last year, the White Paper's legislative amendments and recommendations were introduced in Congress as the NII Copyright Protection Act of 1995 (S. 1284 and H.R. 2441).
1996: TRIPS Agreement
TRIPS Agreement which forms part of the Final Act of the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, which has the effect of restoring to copyright, as of January 1, 1996, works of foreign origin which are currently in the public domain in the United States.
1996: Database Protection Legislation
On May 23, 1996 the Database Investment and Intellectual Property Antipiracy Act of 1996 (H.R. 3531) was introduced by Rep. Moorhead to amend Title 15 U.S.C. The bill seeks to "promote investment and prevent intellectual property piracy with respect to databases." This legislation is comparable to a European sponsored initiative to protect database producers from unauthorized extractions of more than an insubstantial part of database contents for 15 years. To some, this legislation appears to be an end run around the Supreme Court decision Feist Publications, Inc. v. Rural Telephone Service Co., 499 U.S. 340, 349 (1991). Like the NII legislation, careful review of this initiative will be necessary because of its potential negative repercussions for science and education.
1997: A Framework for Electronic Commerce, the WIPO treaties, and US Copyright Law A week before the World Intellectual Property Organization released its final version of the international treaty which extends copyright law into the digital environment, the Clinton Administration introduced its Framework for Electronic Commerce, a white paper produced by the Information Infrastructure Task Force. Faced with the difficult task of developing copyright law that both promotes appropriate access for citizens and protects the rights of producers, Congress is currently examining a variety of legislation which safeguards intellectual property on all levels. But due to the many differences that exist between the entertainment, information, telecommunication, and software companies an accord may not be reached until early next year.

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APPLICATION
Completed papers submitted to the U. S. Patent and Trademark Office seeking a patent
including oath, specification, claims, and drawings.
CONTRIBUTORY INFRINGEMENT
Aid to another in infringing a patent (e.g., selling the infringer an essential portion required
for the completed infringing device, material, article or process).
COPYRIGHT
The exclusive right to the publication, production or sale of the rights to literary, dramatic,
musical, artistic works or software.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
Any form of knowledge or expression created with one's intellect. It includes such things as inventions, computer software, trademarks, literary, artistic musical or visual works and even simply know-how.
LICENSE
A right to use an invention as well as the instrument which grants that right. It allows the
licensee to do things without which license would constitute infringement on the part of the
licensee.
LICENSEE
The entity which is granted rights to intellectual property by the owner of that property.
LICENSOR
The owner of intellectual property which grants rights to another (the licensee) through a
license.
TRADEMARK
A symbol, design, word, letter or other device protected by law and used to distinguish a
product or products from those of competitors.

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