Rep. Boucher Calls for Legislation
to Protect Fair Use for Libraries
Rep. Rick Boucher (D-Va.) has announced he will introduce legislation to protect fair use for libraries and scholars in the wake of the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The DMCA “clearly goes too far,” Boucher said in the March 5 USA Today. “The traditional fair use rights of users of intellectual property have been threatened.”
In a speech at March 6 conference sponsored by the Consumer Electronic Association (a transcript of which has been posted on the Tech Law Journal’s Web site), Boucher cited predictions that under Section 1201 of the law, “what is available today on the library shelves for free will be available on a pay-per-use basis only.” He suggested that the law be amended to prohibit the circumvention of electronic encryption devices only for infringement purposes; barring that, he suggested crafting a more limited amendment to protect fair use rights of libraries and scholars.
Also at the conference, Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) announced he has scheduled a hearing on digital copyright law for April 3. Newsbytes online news service reported March 6 that Hatch has reportedly called for market-oriented solutions to concerns over the DMCA, which he coauthored, rather than amendments to the law.
Posted March 12, 2001.
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