Libel Tourist, Orphan Works Bills Approved

-- Publishers Weekly, 9/30/2008 7:15:00 AM

While the defeat of the $700 billion bail out package by the House of Representatives drew worldwide headlines, Congress did manage to pass two bills supported by most segments of the publishing community, although it was unclear if either would be signed into law during the current Congressional session.

On Saturday the House passed a bill that would make it harder for libel tourists to threaten American authors and publishers with foreign libel suits aimed at undermining their First Amendment rights. The bill, H.R. 6146, would prohibit U.S. courts from recognizing a foreign defamation judgment “based upon a publication concerning a public figure or a matter of public concern” unless the court determines that the foreign judgment satisfies the free speech and free press protections guaranteed by the First Amendment.

AAP president and CEO Pat Schroeder thanked members of Congress for focusing attention on the serious problem of libel tourism, and called passage of H.R. 6146 a “strong and encouraging step forward.” “Libel tourism is an insidious threat. It seeks to intimidate and silence American authors and deprive us of vital information on issues of public concern. I hope we can build on H.R. 6146 with hearings in the new Congress that will shine a light into this dark corner,” Schroeder said.

The AAP also praised the Senate for passing the "Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act of 2008" (S.2913) which would address the problem of “orphan works” – works under copyright whose owners cannot be identified or located by third parties seeking permission to use the works.

“AAP and its members fully understand the ‘orphan works’ problem and embrace the need for a carefully crafted solution,” said AAP v-p for Legal and Government Affairs Allan Adler. “Enactment of the ‘Shawn Bentley Orphan Works Act’ before the close of this Congress would be an extremely important accomplishment. But even if the House does not act, Adler said Senate “passage is a significant step, establishing a benchmark for continuing efforts to enact meaningful ‘orphan works’ legislation early in the new Congress.”