Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 16, No. 481.
Centre for Computing in the Humanities, King's College London
www.kcl.ac.uk/humanities/cch/humanist/
Submit to: humanist@princeton.edu
[1] From: NINCH-ANNOUNCE <david@ninch.org> (139)
Subject: UCITA Weakened
[2] From: NINCH-ANNOUNCE <david@ninch.org> (41)
Subject: Boucher Reintroduces Digital Media Consumers' Rights
Act (DMCRA, H.R. 107)
[3] From: NINCH-ANNOUNCE <david@ninch.org> (51)
Subject: Copyright Office News: California Meetings; Feb 19
Deadline for 1201 Reply Comments
--[1]------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 12 Feb 2003 07:22:45 +0000
From: NINCH-ANNOUNCE <david@ninch.org>
Subject: UCITA Weakened
NINCH ANNOUNCEMENT
News on Networking Cultural Heritage Resources
from across the Community
February 11, 2003
ALA Reports UCITA Fails to Receive American Bar Association Approval
_____
Chronicle Article on "UCITA, The Law Against Sharing Knowledge"
>Date: Tue, 11 Feb 2003 14:05:39 -0500
>From: "ALAWASH E-MAIL" <ALAWASH@alawash.org>
>To: ALA Washington Office Newsline <ala-wo@ala1.ala.org>
>
>ALAWON: American Library Association Washington Office Newsline
>Volume 12, Number 14
>February 11, 2003
In This Issue: UCITA fails to receive American Bar Association
approval
On February 10, 2003, a resolution recommending approval of UCITA (the
Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act) by the American Bar
Association (ABA) House of Delegates was withdrawn by the National
Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL), the body
responsible for drafting UCITA. The ABA delegates were asked to vote on
a resolution approving UCITA's readiness for consideration by state
legislatures. A positive ABA vote is a customary step in the process of
successfully passing proposed uniform laws such as UCITA.
The withdrawal of the UCITA resolution followed in the wake of
increasing opposition to this controversial act within the ABA. Prior
to the opening of the ABA Midyear Meeting in Seattle this weekend, UCITA
failed to garner support from six ABA sections, including the Business
Law, Intellectual Property, Litigation, Torts and Insurance Practice and
Science and Technology sections. In addition, two committees , the
Section Officers' Council's Technology Committee and the ABA Standing
Committee on Law and National Security failed to support passage of the
resolution. Seven of the nine members of the ABA Working Group
appointed to review UCITA in 2001advised the House of Delegates that
recent amendments to UCITA still did not make UCITA appropriate for
approval at this time.
The withdrawal of the resolution indicates that UCITA lacks the
consensus and support needed for successful passage of a uniform state
law. Currently, UCITA is an active bill in Oklahoma.
ALA joined with the Association of Research Libraries, the American
Association of Law Libraries, the Special Libraries Association, the
Medical Libraries Association, the Art Libraries Society of North
American and the Association of American Universities in sending a
joint letter to all of the House of Delegates members last week.
(http://www.ala.org/washoff/ucita/ABAltr0203.pdf) The library
associations were founding members of AFFECT, Americans for Fair
Electronic Commerce Transactions, the national coalition of businesses,
financial institutions, consumer advocates and technology professionals
that has been the leading force in opposing UCITA.
For more information contact Carol Ashworth, ALA UCITA Grassroots
Coordinator cashworth@alawash.org
www.ala.org/washoff/ucita.html
******
ALAWON (ISSN 1069-7799) is a free, irregular publication of the
American Library Association Washington Office. All materials subject to
copyright by the American Library Association may be reprinted or
redistributed for noncommercial purposes with appropriate credits.
===========================================================
>Date: Mon, 10 Feb 2003 21:10:40 -0500 (EST)
>From: Ann Okerson <aokerson@pantheon.yale.edu>
>To: liblicense-l@lists.yale.edu
>>
>Liblicense-l readers: we've reproduced a few paragraphs from this
>improtant article from the Chronicle of Higher Education. Please read
>all of it... The moderators.
_________________________________________________________________
This article is available online at this address:
http://chronicle.com/weekly/v49/i23/23b01401.htm
- The text of the article is below -
_________________________________________________________________
The Law Against Sharing Knowledge
By EDWARD R. JOHNSON
I remember the days when the only licenses that mattered
were the ones that allowed you to drive, fish and hunt, or get
married. Today it seems that licensing is taking over the
world of academic libraries, and putting scholars' ability to
exchange information at risk. Stories of draconian contract
terms in licenses from software vendors and the publishers of
electronic databases and periodical indexes circulate like
tall tales -- but they are usually true. We will hear even
more such stories if the state legislatures that are
considering the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act,
or Ucita, adopt it this spring.
Ucita is a model law, proposed by the National Conference of
Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, that would set new rules
in all states for licensing software and every other form of
digital information. So far, more than 20 states have
considered it, but only Maryland and Virginia have adopted it.
Most of the states' attorneys general are on record as
opposing the law because of its potential for adverse effects
on consumers: Ucita would enable vendors to restrict
consumers' rights to read license agreements before accepting
them, to sue vendors if their products were defective, or to
donate a product to charity. But the conference amended the
act last year, and its revised version will probably be
introduced in many legislatures this year, including those
that rejected the original version.
What librarians object to most about Ucita is that it would
permit software vendors and publishers to impose a wide range
of terms on academics' use of electronic information -- terms
that conflict with institutional policies and regulations --
and that the act would tie our hands in negotiating fair
licensing agreements. It might even undermine prevailing
federal copyright laws: While the act's authors insist that it
would not overturn copyright, they have rejected a proposal
from several library associations to add wording that clearly
asserts the pre-eminence of federal copyright law in
"shrink-wrap licenses."
[SNIP]
Ucita would replace the public law of copyright with the
private law of contracts. Under copyright law, a vendor that
sells copies of information has only limited power to control
the subsequent use of that information. But a contract under
Ucita could prevent the user from reading the license in
advance, reinforcing the vendors' view that opening the
software box or breaking the shrink-wrap constitutes consent
to the license's terms. It would extend that view to the
online environment, making clicking on a virtual button the
equivalent of opening a physical box.
Edward R. Johnson is dean of libraries at Oklahoma State
University.
_________________________________________________________________
You may visit The Chronicle as follows:
_________________________________________________________________
Copyright 2003 by The Chronicle of Higher Education
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--[2]------------------------------------------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Feb 2003 07:23:32 +0000 From: NINCH-ANNOUNCE <david@ninch.org> Subject: Boucher Reintroduces Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act (DMCRA, H.R. 107)
NINCH ANNOUNCEMENT News on Networking Cultural Heritage Resources from across the Community February 11, 2003
Rep. Boucher Reintroduces Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act (DMCRA, H.R. 107) http://siliconvalley.internet.com/news/article.php/1565901
The Bill: http://www.house.gov/boucher/docs/BOUCHE_025.pdf
Boucher's Statement: http://www.house.gov/boucher/docs/dccrastatement.htm
Electronic Frontier Foundation Encourages Support http://action.eff.org/action/index.asp?step=2&item=2421
>From: amalyah keshet <akeshet@netvision.net.il> >>To: mcn-l@mcn.edu
Boucher Introduces Fair Use Rights Bill By Roy Mark Jan 8, 2003
Digital home recording rights became the first technology-related legislation introduced in the 108th Congress Tuesday afternoon with the filing of a bill intended to protect the fair use rights of consumers purchasing copyrighted material.
Sponsored by Representatives Rick Boucher (D.-Va.) and John Doolittle (R.-Calif.), the bill would amend two key provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) which currently prohibit the circumvention of a technical protection measure guarding access to a copyrighted work even if the purpose of the circumvention is to exercise traditional consumer fair use rights.
Entitled the Digital Media Consumers' Rights Act (H.R. 107), the legislation is identical to the bill introduced by Boucher last November (H.R. 5544). http://siliconvalley.internet.com/news/article.php/1565901 ---
----------------------------------------------------------------------- NINCH-Announce is an announcement listserv, produced by the National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH). The subjects of announcements are not the projects of NINCH, unless otherwise noted; neither does NINCH necessarily endorse the subjects of announcements. We attempt to credit all re-distributed news and announcements and appreciate reciprocal credit.
For questions, comments or requests to un-subscribe, contact the editor: <mailto:david@ninch.org> ----------------------------------------------------------------------- See and search back issues of NINCH-ANNOUNCE at <http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninch-announce/>. -----------------------------------------------------------------------
--[3]------------------------------------------------------------------ Date: Wed, 12 Feb 2003 07:24:08 +0000 From: NINCH-ANNOUNCE <david@ninch.org> Subject: Copyright Office News: California Meetings; Feb 19 Deadline for 1201 Reply Comments
NINCH ANNOUNCEMENT News on Networking Cultural Heritage Resources from across the Community February 11, 2003
COPYRIGHT OFFICE NEWS
1. Reminder: February 19 Deadline for "Anti-Circumvention" Comments http://www.copyright.gov/1201/
2. Copyright Office Comes to California March 3, 2003: Santa Monica March 5, 2003: Los Angeles http://www.calbar.org/ipsection/index.htm
>Date: Tue, 11 Feb 2003 10:39:57 -0500 >From: Copyright News <copynews@loc.gov> >> >U.S. Copyright Office >NewsNet >February 10, 2003 >Issue 188
February 19 is the deadline for the second round of comments in the Copyright Office triennial rulemaking proceeding on exemptions from the prohibition on circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works. Those who oppose or support any exemptions proposed in the initial comments will have the opportunity to respond to the proposals made in the initial comments and to provide factual information and legal argument addressing whether a proposed exemption should be adopted. (67 FR 63578)
"THE COPYRIGHT OFFICE COMES TO CALIFORNIA"
During the first week of March, top officials from the Copyright Office will participate in a program in Los Angeles and San Francisco where they will provide an update on the latest Copyright Office law and policy activities, including rulemakings, legislation, and international activities. The program will also include presentations on fair use in the twenty-first century and copyright registration issues for practitioners and copyright owners.
Sponsored by the Intellectual Property Law Section of the State Bar of California and the Los Angeles Copyright Society, the program will take place March 3 in Santa Monica, Calif. and March 5 in San Francisco. Participants may earn MCLE credits. For further information, go to <<http://www.calbar.org/ipsection/index.htm#copy>http://www.calbar.org/ipsection/index.htm#copy>
----------------------------------------------------------------------- NINCH-Announce is an announcement listserv, produced by the National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH). The subjects of announcements are not the projects of NINCH, unless otherwise noted; neither does NINCH necessarily endorse the subjects of announcements. We attempt to credit all re-distributed news and announcements and appreciate reciprocal credit.
For questions, comments or requests to un-subscribe, contact the editor: <mailto:david@ninch.org> ----------------------------------------------------------------------- See and search back issues of NINCH-ANNOUNCE at <http://www.cni.org/Hforums/ninch-announce/>. -----------------------------------------------------------------------
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