Register of Copyrights Not Asked by Congress To Weigh in on Google Book Search?, Library Journal, 3/20/09

Via Library Journal: Register of Copyrights Not Asked by Congress To Weigh in on Google Book Search?:

"Out of last Friday's all-day Columbia University conference on Google Book Search came this interesting little tidbit: Register of Copyrights Mary Beth Peters had recommended against the Library of Congress participating in Google’s initial Library Partners program, because she wasn’t sure that Google’s indexing of copyrighted books was a fair use.

That in and of itself is not a shocker—a lot of experts are still torn over whether the plan was indeed a fair use. But as Cornell University’s Peter Hirtle noted, the real surprise is that Congress, well, just didn’t seem to care about the program.

“Most disturbing of all was Peters’s admission that not one member of Congress has asked the Copyright Office to comment on the settlement," Hirtle blogged “even though it may fundamentally change how Americans can access and use copyrighted information.”

Certainly, that insight has to make one wonder how much Congress cares about the promotion of progress at the bedrock of copyright law. Last year, Congress failed to pass orphan works legislation but passed a draconian bill stiffening infringement penalties. And while sitting out the potentially momentous discussion over copyright as raised by Google Book Search, Congress is agian considering the Fair Copyright in Research Works Act—controversial legislation that would bar public access to research funded by taxpayers, and would undo the NIH’s access policy, enacted last year.

Notably, Peters was also not asked to testify at a hearing on the Fair Copyright in Research Works Act during a congressional hearing last year—but, curiously, a former register of copyright, Ralph Oman was asked, and did testify. Oman told lawmakers that the public access policies, like the NIH’s, would harm publishers and gut copyright."

http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6645344.html

Research copyright bill would end free health info, Detroit Free Press, 3/5/09

Detroit Free Press: Research copyright bill would end free health info:

"Current law requires scientists to submit NIH-funded work to PubMed Central when it is accepted for publication in a journal. It's free to the public after one year.

The [Fair Copyright in Research Works] bill would keep studies protected under journals' copyrights, often for decades, according to the U.S. Copyright Office.

"I don't think there's a good thing to say about this bill. It's basically a corporate giveaway," said Jessica Litman, a copyright law professor at U-M. "The people own it, they shouldn't have to pay to see it again.""

http://www.freep.com/article/20090305/NEWS15/903050359

Library Associations Oppose Repealing Public Access Bill, Urge Action, Information Today, 2/23/09

Via Information Today, Library Associations Oppose Repealing Public Access Bill, Urge Action:

"The Fair Copyright in Research Works Act, H.R. 801 (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.801:), recently introduced by Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., would repeal the NIH Public Access Policy and prevent other federal agencies from enacting similar open access policies. In response, 10 library associations and advocacy groups, including AALL (American Association of Law Libraries), ACRL (Association of College & Research Libraries), ALA (American Library Association), ARL (Association of Research Libraries), and GWLA (Greater Western Library Alliance), have sent a letter to House Judiciary Committee members opposing the bill (www.wo.ala.org/districtdispatch/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/oawg_to_judiciary-09-feb-_3_x.pdf) and expressing their long-standing and strong support for the NIH Open Access Policy. A SPARC-sponsored analysis that outlines why the NIH Public Access policy does not affect copyright law was attached to the letter."

http://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/wndReader.asp?ArticleId=52728

Copyright Research Bill ReIntroduced, LIS News, 2/4/09

Via LIS News: Copyright Research Bill ReIntroduced:

"The Fair Copyright in Research Works bill, a controversial measure that would ban public access policies similar to those of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), was reintroduced in Congress last night, after being shelved at the end of 2008.

The bill resurfaces as proponents in the Association of American Publishers’ (AAP) Professional and Scholarly Publishing Division holds its annual conference today in Washington, DC. Although the text of HR 801 has yet to be posted online, those who have seen it say it has much the same text as HR 6845, which was the subject of a spirited hearing held before a Congressional subcommittee last year.

In a statement, AAP officials praised the bill's reintroduction, and said the legislation "would help keep the Federal Government from undermining copyright protection for journal articles." The library community, however, strongly opposses the measure."

http://lisnews.org/node/32669/