Friends,
Since I posted the following alert this morning, several of you have
asked for assistance in locating contact information for current
members of the ABA's House of Delegates. I'm pleased to say that you'll
now find a listing of members, by state, at:
http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/aallwash/ABAHOD2003.PDF.
Thanks again, and keep up the good work!
Sincerely,
Mary Alice
Mary Alice Baish wrote:
> AALL ACTION ALERT: Urge ABA House of Delegates to Oppose Resolution 113G
> January 16, 2003
>
> BACKGROUND:
> Since 1999, the American Association of Law Libraries has worked
> closely with the American Library Association and others in opposing
> efforts to adopt the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act
> (UCITA) as a state uniform law. UCITA would enforce the broad use of
> shrink-wrap and click-on licenses, allowing vendors to control the
> downstream uses of their products.
>
> Libraries have opposed UCITA because it represents a fundamental shift
> in power between copyright law and contract law that threatens the
> balanced set of copyright law principles and privileges under which
> the library community currently operates--such as fair use,
> preservation, and the unhindered use of works in the public domain.
>
> Thus far, UCITA has been enacted only in two states, Maryland and
> Virginia. The AALL community has worked closely with other members of
> the Americans for Fair Electronic Commerce Transactions (AFFECT)
> coalition, both at the national and state levels. As a result, we have
> successfully opposed UCITA in about twenty states during the past
> three years.
>
> CURRENT CRISIS:
> The National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws
> (NCCUSL) approved a series of amendments to UCITA in 2002 that do not
> substantively improve the Act or address our concerns about its impact
> on libraries and educational institutions. These changes do not
> ameliorate our fundamental concern that UCITA will allow licensors to
> circumvent the provisions of federal copyright law and thereby
> threaten the core services we are committed to provide and that our
> respective communities need.
>
> During the Midyear meeting of the American Bar Association that begins
> in Seattle on February 5th, members of the House of Delegates will
> deliberate the merits of Resolution 113G proposed by NCCUSL that,
>
> Approves the Uniform Computer Information Transactions Act (2002)
> promulgated by the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform
> State Laws as an appropriate Act for those States desiring to adopt
> the specific substantive law suggested therein.
>
> We must speak out now to ensure that Resolution 113G is not passed by
> the House of Delegates.
>
> ACTION NEEDED:
> It is crucial that members of the ABA House of Delegates hear from law
> librarians in their state. Please contact your states members of the
> House of Delegates immediately to urge them to oppose Resolution 113G,
> using the talking points below.
>
> In addition, please redistribute this message broadly to others within
> your law school, your law library or your firm.
>
> " Law librarians have followed the progress of UCITA with great
> concern since it was conceived as Article UCC 2B and have been
> involved in legislative discussions concerning it in over twenty
> states since 1999. AALL was a founding member of Americans for Fair
> Electronic Commerce Transactions (AFFECT), the national coalition
> opposing UCITA.
>
> " Libraries and educational institutions are important stakeholders
> because we are among the largest consumers of software and fee-based
> electronic services in the country, licensing over a billion dollars a
> year in computer information products including databases, online
> journals, CD-ROMs, e-books, and business software.
>
> " UCITA has been controversial since its inception and the recent
> amendments adopted by NCCUSL are inadequate in addressing the
> substantial concerns we and other opponents have been articulating for
> years.
>
> " The library community did not propose and does not endorse NCCUSL
> Amendment #12 regarding the transferability of computer software to
> public libraries and elementary and secondary schools. The exemption
> does not extend to the full library community and more importantly,
> provides much less transferability than the first sale doctrine of
> federal copyright law allows.
>
> " The recent changes to UCITA adopted by NCCUSL do not alter our
> fundamental concern that UCITA will allow licensors to circumvent the
> provisions of federal copyright law and thereby threaten the core
> information services we are committed to provide and that our
> respective legal communities need. We continue to believe that UCITA
> is a highly flawed piece of legislation that is still not an
> appropriate Act for referral to state legislatures.
>
> Thank you,
> Mary Alice Baish
> Associate Washington Affairs Representative
> American Association of Law Libraries
>
>
> ********************
> Mary Alice Baish
> Associate Washington Affairs Representative
> American Association of Law Libraries
> Georgetown University Law Center
> E.B. Williams Library
> 111 G Street NW
> Washington, DC 20001-1417
> PH: 202-662-9200
> FAX: 202-662-9202
> E-MAIL: baish@law.georgetown.edu
> WWW: www.ll.georgetown.edu/aallwash
>
>
>
>
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