IP: WIPO

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

The clause exempting te ISPs seems to create the same mess that eexists
with the Domain Names trademark issue. Someone claiming that material is
copyrighted may cause the ISP to delete it even before any legal action is
taken -- like has been done in Europe on certain religious material. The
much of the rest is in my view also defective.


Dave




May 4, 1998




          Legislation on Online Copyrights
          Advances


          By JERI CLAUSING


                 ASHINGTON -- Hoping to take global leadership on the
                 hotly disputed issue of protecting creative works in
          cyberspace, Congress is completing legislation that would
          expand copyright protections to online material. 


          The legislation, meant to put into force an international treaty on
          digital copyrights, seeks to protect intellectual-property holders
          while limiting the liability of Internet access providers that
          unwittingly store, transmit or link Web surfers to illegally copied
          material. 


          When it was introduced last year as a way to put into effect two
          treaties agreed upon by the World Intellectual Property
          Organization, the legislation was met with widespread
          opposition from groups that feared it would inadvertently trample
          on scores of acceptable fair uses of copyrighted material.
          Librarians and educators, for example, feared they would be
          unable to share research, make digital copies or use computers
          to link classrooms. 


          Other critics were particularly concerned about a provision that
          would make it illegal to unlock data-scrambling technologies
          used to protect digital copies of prose, music and software
          without the copyright holder's permission. The provision would
          also outlaw hardware capable of unlocking those protective
          codes. 


          Software developers had said the measure would make it illegal
          for them to unscramble competitors' products to make sure that
          different programs could work together. Parents feared it would
          outlaw the devices they use to track their children's Web-surfing
          habits. And privacy advocates said it would prevent them from
          disabling so-called cookies -- electronic markers that
          companies deposit on the computers of people who visit their
          Web sites. 


          After weeks of negotiations, the Senate Judiciary Committee
          last week adopted a version that is intended to allow exceptions
          for those and many other fair uses. But some remain nervous
          about what has been left out, both intentionally and unwittingly. 


          Most notably absent is any exemption for devices used in
          research of the data-scrambling, or encryption, technology used
          to protect the privacy of e-mail and other computer
          communication. The lack of such an exemption "would pose a
          serious impediment" to the science of computer security, said
          John Scheibel, vice president and general counsel for the
          Computer and Communications Industry Association, a trade
          group. 


          Senate leaders said they still hoped to reach a compromise on
          the issue of encryption research. Still, Scheibel said he
          remained concerned about the basic premise of outlawing
          hardware rather than focusing on the act or intent of illegally
          copying material. 


          But Hilary Rosen, president and chief executive of the Recording
          Industry Association of America, which supports the legislation,
          said such concerns "are more philosophical than a practical
          reality." 


          A key compromise was the agreement between the copyright
          holders and Internet service companies to exempt online
          networks from liability for copyright infringements that they
          unwittingly transmit or store. 


          In return, service providers agreed to "expeditiously" remove or
          disable access to sites that copyright holders contend are
          illegally using their material. The Senate bill would also ensure
          that Web-search services like Yahoo are not held liable for
          linking Web surfers to sites that might be committing copyright
          violations. 


          A companion bill, with fewer changes, was approved last month
          by the House Judiciary Committee. The full Senate and House
          are each expected to take up the legislation later this month.