ADVANCE/Broad based coalition expresses concern over intellectual property proposals and urges close congressional scrutiny.

(ADVANCE) WASHINGTON, D.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Consumers, distributors and creators of information welcome today's Congressional hearing scrutinizing the administration's White Paper on Intellectual Property in the National Information Infrastructure.

"The legal regime envisioned by the White Paper has serious flaws, and we are confident that these flaws will become more evident to Congress as it deliberates this issue," said Adam Eisgrau, legislative counsel of the American Library Association. In letters dated November 9 and published in Roll Call (Nov. 13), the Digital Future Coalition urged Congress to thoroughly examine the currently pending proposal. The coalition's members are concerned that premature action on this highly complex legislation presents substantial risk of unintended consequences.

The Digital Future Coalition (DFC) is a recently-formed organization representing more than 2.2 million individuals, corporations and organizations with direct interest and expertise in the continued growth and development of the National Information Infrastructure (NII). The members of the DFC are committed to supporting proposals that promote innovation in the information and technology industries, personal privacy in electronic communication and public access to information resources, as well as appropriate protection for copyrighted content in the digital environment.

The DFC is deeply concerned that these universal goals will not be realized if the unbalanced analysis and incomplete technological understanding of the recent "White Paper" report by the National Information Infrastructure Task Force's Intellectual Property Working Group are accepted and prematurely codified. While the authors of the White Paper claim that its recommendations, embodied in H.R. 2441 and S. 1284, constitute only a "minor clarification" of current copyright law, the DFC says the real ramifications of these recommendations are sweeping.

Additionally, the proposed legislation could reduce public and educational access to the Internet. This legislation "threatens the growth of new electronic educational techniques, such as 'distance learning' programs vital to rural communities, by imposing potentially prohibitive copyright clearance costs on academic innovators," according to Peter Jaszi, professor, American University law school.

The DFC believes that the legal regime envisioned in the White Paper and reflected in H.R. 2441 and S.1284 is one that could delay or even prevent the emergence of new commercial technologies, and frustrate competition in the marketplace for digital goods and services by picking "winners" over startup enterprises. It could also invite invasion of the privacy of digital information user, expose on-line/internet service providers to unspecified legal liability and reduce educators' and the public's access to digital information.

As it stands, the current legislation could "stifle innovation and job creation in the private sector," said Edward J. Black, president of the Computer & Communications Industry Association. "Overbroad prohibitions against the manufacture and sale of useful consumer electronic devices, and severe restrictions on the legitimate reverse analysis of hardware and software to achieve interoperability, are just two examples of the unintended consequences currently contained in the White Paper."

In its letter, the DFC expressed concern that these and other proposals are being put forward as international treaty language before being fully considered domestically. Moreover, the DFC urged Congress not to rush its deliberations as a result of the international agenda.

In the best interests of American creators and users of intellectual property, the coalition has urged Congress to thoroughly scrutinize the full range of issues raised by the National Information Infrastructure and actively seek independent and detailed assessments of the White Paper from interested organizations across the political spectrum. Furthermore, the DFC asked Congress to communicate to the Executive Branch that making commitments in international negotiations would be premature at this time.

"Today, both commercial and non-commercial use of the NII is increasing geometrically, within the sound basic framework of existing intellectual property laws. There is therefore no urgent reason to legislate soon rather than well," said Eisgrau.

DIGITAL FUTURE COALITION MEMBERS: Alliance for Public Technology; American Association of Law Libraries; American Committee for Interoperable Systems; American Council of Learned Societies; American Historical Association; American Library Association; Art Libraries of North America; Association of American Geographers; Center for Democracy and Technology; Committee of Concerned Intellectual Property Educators; Computer & Communications Industry Association; Conference on College Composition and Communication; Consortium of Social Science Associations; Consumer Federation of America; Consumer Project on Technology; Electronic Frontier Foundation; Electronic Privacy Information Center; Modern Language Association; Medical Library Association; National Council of Teachers of English; National Education Association; National Humanities Alliance; National School Boards Association; National Writers Union; People for the American Way Action Fund; Special Libraries Association.

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DIGITAL FUTURE COALITION

The Digital Future Coalition believes, as we declared in our open letter to Congress (printed in Roll Call, November 13, 1995), that the legal regime envisioned in the "White Paper" report by the National Information Infrastructure Task Force's Intellectual Property Working Group, and reflected in S. 1284 and H.R. 2441, is one that could:

-- delay or even prevent the emergence of new commercial

technologies which "add value" to digital information by

increasing copyright owners' effective control over

data resources;

-- "pick winners" and frustrate competition in the marketplace

for digital goods and services by favoring established

companies with large holdings of copyrighted works over

innovative "startup" enterprises;

-- stifle innovation and job creation in the private sector

with overbroad prohibitions against manufacture and sale

of legitimately useful consumer electronic devices, and by

severely restricting reverse analysis of hardware and

software for purposes of achieving inter-operability;

-- invite invasion of the privacy of digital information users

(including students and library patrons), and expose

on-line/internet service providers to unspecified legal

liability, by failing to address the unique circumstances

of these new communications media;

-- threaten the growth of new electronic educational

techniques, such as "distance learning" programs vital

to rural communities, by imposing potentially prohibitive

copyright clearance costs on academic innovators;

-- reduce educators' and the public's access to digital

information by creating a new "transmission right" which

would make electronic communications "distributions" within

the meaning of the Copyright Act, and by categorizing even

"browsing" as a potentially infringing "reproduction";

-- undermine writers, artists and other individual creators

by ignoring their concerns about intellectual property

ownership in the digital environment;

-- increase the gap between information "haves" and "have-nots"

by creating new protections for copyright holders without

providing balancing safeguards for users; and

-- erode the traditional concepts and practices of "fair use"

by failing to reaffirm their importance in the digital

environment.

Additionally, the DFC has urged Congress to:

-- publicly announce your intention to hold a comprehensive

series of hearings in the Second Session of this Congress

for the purpose of thoroughly scrutinizing the full range

of intellectual property issues raised by the NII;

-- formally communicate to the Executive Branch the Congress's

conviction that the United States should take no action in

international property negotiations that could force

Congress to choose between either complying with a new

international standard, or promoting the best interests

of American creators and users of intellectual property;

and

-- actively seek independent and detailed assessments of

the White Paper from interested organizations across the

political system.

(End of advance for release Wednesday Nov.15 at 10 am)

CONTACT: Digital Future Coalition

Adam Eisgrau, 202/628-8410 ext. 208

or

Meredith Hammans

Wednesday, 9 am - noon

202/833-4241