WIPO Bills Move Slowly Through House, Senate
Calvin Reid -- 4/20/98
The subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee has combined two of the bills needed to implement the international copyright treaties negotiated at the 1996 World Intellectual Property Organization meeting. There is some expectation that the bill, H.R.2281, supported by the Association of American Publishers and other content owners, will reach the floor of the House by early May.Nevertheless, despite some changes in the bill's language, library and information consumer groups continue to oppose it (News, Jan. 5). H.R.2180, a contentious bill dealing with liability exemption for online service providers for third-party infringement via their networks, has been combined with H.R.2281, the principal implementation legislation. Allan Adler, AAP v-p for legal and government affairs, told PW that the House subcommittee added compromise language to the bill to provide "a safe harbor from money damages" for certain networks and providers under limited circumstances. Adler also noted that the equally contentious issue of anti-circumvention-libraries and software developers claim banning certain "decompilation" devices will restrict lawful access to information-was addressed with compromise language by Rep. Barney Frank. However, it is unclear whether the library community supports Frank's efforts. H.R.2281 has also been circulated informally to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee. However, Adler cautioned, the bill remains in a very preliminary form and much debate and negotiation remains. Back To News---> |
