[This message has been sent to AALL members and the Law-Lib listserv; please
excuse the duplication]
June 23, 1998
On June 5, 1998, I testified at a hearing on H.R. 2281, the House WIPO
implementation bill, before the Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade
and Consumer Affairs of the House Commerce Committee to urge that the fair
use doctrine be extended into the digital age.
At the mark-up last Thursday, Subcommittee members offered several important
amendments embodied in H.R. 3048, the Boucher/Campbell bill that AALL and
the DFC have long supported. Rep. Scott Klug (R-WI-2nd) and Rep. Rick
Boucher (D-VA-9th) proposed a fair use amendment that several members
vigorously supported. They carefully explained that it did NOT EXPAND fair
use rights but rather applied them to the digital age.
Rep. John Dingell (D-MI-16th), Ranking Minority Member of the full
Committee, strongly supported the amendment and noted that fair use has an
important, legal purpose. He added that without the Klug-Boucher amendment,
education and research will be stifled.
Some members just as vigorously opposed the amendment, expressing concerns
about "piracy" and fears that, for example, a library might acquire a
digital work and put it up on the Internet. These members don't understand
that librarians oppose piracy as strongly as we believe that without fair
use in the digital age, Americans will be facing a pay-per-view future.
Other Subcommittee members, including House Commerce Committee Chairman
Rep.Tom Bliley (R-VA-7th) and Subcommittee Chairman Billy Tauzin (R-LA-3rd)
spoke in favor of fair use but opposed the language of the amendment as
being overly broad. The amendment was withdrawn and agreement reached that
members would negotiate language and bring an amendment back to the full
Committee.
URGENT ACTION NEEDED TODAY
The mark-up is now scheduled for tomorrow. If your representative is listed
below as a member of the Commerce Committee, call them IMMEDIATELY.
There are three quick and very important messages to relay:
1. Urge your representative to support the Klug-Boucher amendment on fair
use.
2. With an endorsement of their support, urge them to attend Wednesday's
full Committee mark-up session--every "aye" vote is crucial.
3. Urge them to oppose the bill if the Klug-Boucher amendment fails.
If your representative's name is preceded by an * on the list below, they
are among the co-sponsors of H.R. 3048. Thank them for their support and
let them know that their presence at tomorrow's mark-up is crucial.
Calls to the Committee leadership--Rep. Bliley, Rep. Dingell, Rep. Tauzin
and Rep. Markey (D-MA-7)--are also very important as they have all stated
the need to ensure balance in copyright. Please urge their continued
support for fair use in the digital age.
Thank you,
Robert L. Oakley
Washington Affairs Representative
House Commerce Committee Members (Those with an * are already co-sponsors of
H.R. 3048.)
_________________________________________________________________
HOUSE COMMERCE COMMITTEE (DC area code is 202)
St-Dst Pty Representative Phone FAX
CA-14 D Anna G. Eshoo 225-8104 225-8890
CA-27 R James E. Rogan 225-4176 225-5828
CA-29 D Henry A. Waxman 225-3976 225-4099
CA-47 R Christopher Cox 225-5611 225-9177
CA-49 R * Brian P. Bilbray 225-2040 225-2948
CO-1 D Diana DeGette 225-4431 225-5657
CO-6 R * Dan Schaefer 225-7882 225-7885
FL-6 R Clifford B. Stearns 225-5744 225-3973
FL-9 R Michael Bilirakis 225-5755 225-4085
FL-20 D Peter Deutsch 225-7931 225-8456
GA-9 R Nathan Deal 225-5211 225-8272
GA-10 R * Charles W. Norwood 225-4101 225-0279
ID-2 R Michael D. Crapo 225-5531 225-8216
IL-1 D Bobby L. Rush 225-4372 226-0333
IL-14 R J. Dennis Hastert 225-2976 225-0697
IL-20 R John M. Shimkus 225-5271 225-5880
IA-4 R Greg Ganske 225-4426 225-3193
KY-1 R Edward Whitfield 225-3115 225-3547
LA-3 R W. J. Tauzin 225-4031 225-0563
MD-4 D Albert R. Wynn 225-8699 225-8714
MA-7 D Edward J. Markey 225-2836
MI-1 D Bart Stupak 225-4735 225-4744
MI-6 R Frederick S. Upton 225-3761 225-4986
MI-16 D John D. Dingell, Rnk. Mem. 225-4071
MO-5 D Karen McCarthy 225-4535 225-4403
NJ-6 D * Frank Pallone 225-4671 225-9665
NY-2 R Rick A. Lazio 225-3335 225-4669
NY-7 D Thomas J. Manton 225-3965 225-1909
NY-10 D * Edolphus Towns 225-5936 225-1018
NY-17 D Eliot L. Engel 225-2464 225-5513
NY-27 R Bill Paxon 225-5265 225-5910
NC-5 R Richard M. Burr 225-2071 225-2995
OH-4 R Michael G. Oxley 225-2676
OH-5 R Paul E. Gillmor 225-6405 225-1985
OH-6 D Ted Strickland 225-5705 225-5907
OH-13 D * Sherrod Brown 225-3401 225-2266
OH-14 D Thomas C. Sawyer 225-5231 225-5278
OK-1 R Steve Largent 225-2211 225-9187
OK-2 R Thomas Allen Coburn 225-2701 225-3038
OR-1 D * Elizabeth Furse 225-0855 225-9497
PA-4 D Ron Klink 225-2565 226-2274
PA-8 R James C. Greenwood 225-4276 225-9511
TN-6 D Bart Gordon 225-4231 225-6887
TX-4 D * Ralph M. Hall 225-6673 225-3332
TX-6 R Joe Barton 225-2002 225-3052
TX-29 D Gene Green 225-1688 225-9903
VA-7 R Thomas J. Bliley, Chair 225-2815 225-0011
VA-9 D * Rick Boucher 225-3861 225-0442
WA-1 R Rick White 225-6311 225-3524
WI-2 R * Scott L. Klug 225-2906 225-6942
WY-1 R Barbara Cubin 225-2311 225-3057
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