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ALA Effort Blocks Digital Copyright BillThe House Commerce Committee has delayed action until July 21 on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which library leaders view as a threat to the fair use of materials online. Strongly supported by a coalition of publishing- and entertainment-industry organizations, the bill is being reexamined in light of ALA's adamant opposition to its passage without language that would permit copying digitized items for educational use. The bill's enactment would enable the U.S. to ratify two World Intellectual Property Organization treaties. The provisions of the act, which passed the Senate on May 14, outlaws the bypassing of encryption codes that require Internet surfers to pay per copyrighted view. "Even to look at a document without paying would become a criminal offense," ALA Washington Office Director Carol Henderson told American Libraries June 22 of the stipulation. But Association of American Publishers' spokesperson Alan Adler charged that ALA's real goal is "perpetual ownership," Reuters reported June 25. Posted June 29, 1998. |
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