IP: WIPO bill passes

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

U.S. House finally passes digital copyright bill

   By Aaron Pressman
   WASHINGTON, Oct 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives
approved landmark legislation on Monday updating copyright law for the
digital age, sending the bill to the White House where President Bill
Clinton is expected to sign it into law.
   The bill, approved by the Senate last week, implements the provisions of
 two international treaties adopted by the World Intellectual Property
Organization in 1996
   Software makers, movie studios, book publishers and other creators of
copyrighted works pushed hard for the legislation, fearing that as their
products increasingly became available on the Internet in digital form,
pirates and criminals would be able to make and sell illegal copies easily.
   The legislation creates criminal penalties for anyone who circumvents
high-technology anti-piracy protections, such as encryption, used to block
illegal copying. The bill also forbids the manufacture, import, sale or
distribution of devices or services used for circumvention.
   "The U.S. Congress today set an international standard for strong
protection of creative works on the Internet that will spur the growth of
electronic commerce and result in consumers benefiting from quicker and
better online access to software, music, movies and other types of
copyrighted works," said Robert Holleyman, president of the Business
Software Alliance.
   A variety of exceptions were also included at the request of libraries,
scientists, universities and some manufacturers of consumer electronic
devices.
   They feared the law would prevent some kinds of research and would
unfairly limit "fair use," a central principle of existing copyright law
that allows copies to be made for educational and other non-commercial
purposes.
   The exceptions include allowing circumvention if done for computer
security testing, encryption research or limited kinds of computer software
 development. Internet surfers can also circumvent in limited ways to
protect their privacy, and parents could circumvent to monitor their
children's travels through cyberspace.
   The anti-circumvention laws will not go into effect for two years, until
 the Librarian of Congress, with advice from the Commerce Department,
decides whether additional exceptions need to be made. Such exceptions
would be reconsidered in a recurring process every three years, at which
time new exceptions could also be created.
   The bill also defined broad freedom from liability for online and
Internet service providers, like America Online <AOL.N>, which otherwise
might have been held financially liable for copyright infringement by one
of their millions of customers.
   Under the bill, service providers will not be held liable for violations
 they do not know of but if notified by a copyright holder, must take rapid
 action to shut down the alleged violator. However, if the copyright holder
 fails to pursue the claim in court within a few weeks, the alleged
violator has the right to demand that online access be restored.
   The procedure "establishes a rational process that will enable service
providers to move quickly against copyright violations discovered on their
systems without forcing them into the impossible task of monitoring
millions of transmissions," said Tim 

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