In this issue ...

1.  Library Associations Support H.R. 4755
2.  Library Associations Support NIH-funded Manuscripts
3.  GPO’s Planning Document for the Collection of Last Resort (CRL)

4.  Open Access: Implications and Cost Models

5.  CGI Recommendation for Search Interoperability

6.  New ERIC Web Site Opens

7.  Copyright vs. Presidential Parody

8.  EFF Scores Landmark Win for P2P

9.  IMLS Awards $13.8 Million

10. Australian Free-Trade Bargain Raises Concerns

11. Taiwan Copyright Law Changes

12. Viet Nam Joins Berne Convention

13. Dutch Court Rules that Perfume is Covered by Copyright

14. Write for Information Outlook®

Library Associations Support H.R. 4755

SLA, ARL, AALL, ALA, and MLA sent a joint letter in support of the Legislative Branch Appropriations Act, 2005 (H.R. 4755).  H.R. 4755 provides the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) funding for 16 new positions, which are very specialized and targeted to meet specific needs of the depository library community and the public. Each participating federal depository library makes significant investments to ensure that the public has effective access to government information.   Letter

Library Associations Support NIH-Funded Manuscripts
SLA, ARL, AALL, ALA, and MLA sent a joint letter to Dr. Elias A. Zerhouni, the Director of the National Institutes of Health, in support of the NIH proposal to provide freely available online access to NIH-funded manuscripts via PubMedCentral. Letter

GPO’s Planning Document for the Collection of Last Resort (CRL)
SLA, ARL, AALL, and ALA sent a joint letter in support of Government Printing Office’s proposed Collection of Last Resort (CLR), and provided comments on the GPO's planning document for the CLR. The letter addressed: “First, the assurance that over time there will be a trusted means to effectively access federal information resources is critically important and long overdue. Secondly, this will greatly expand access to federal information to the public and libraries alike. Third, GPO‘s collaboration with other agencies, institutions, and partners such as NARA, members of the FDL community and beyond is key to the success of this initiative. And finally, this plan presents new opportunities for libraries to more effectively manage their federal depository library collections.” Comments

Open Access: Implications and Cost Models
On December 1, 2004, SLA will be presenting a virtual seminar on Open Access.   What is Open Access? What are the implications of the various cost models in the short and long-term? What are the possible impacts on the scholarly communication network in the long-term?  Details and registration information.

CGI Recommendation for Search Interoperability
The Categorization of Government Information (CGI) Working Group of the U.S. Federal Interagency Committee on Government Information is recommending that the U.S. Federal Government should adopt a search service standard to enhance interoperability among networked systems that aid in the discovery of and access to government information.   The CGI is seeking comments until September 27, 2004.   http://www.cio.gov/documents/ICGI/recommendation.html

New ERIC Web Site Opens
The new ERIC site opened on September 1, 2004. The new site provides users with increased search capabilities to access the existing ERIC bibliographic database (1966-2004). On October 1, 2004, ERIC will introduce, for the first time, free full-text non-journal ERIC resources. These materials include more than 105,000 full-text documents authorized for electronic ERIC distribution during 1993 - July 2004, previously sold through E*Subscribe from the ERIC Document Reproduction Service (EDRS). EDRS, which also sells the ERIC microfiche, is scheduled to close operations on September 30, 2004. More information.

Copyright vs. Presidential Parody

Ludlow Music, claiming to own the rights to Woody Guthrie's "This Land is Your Land," has dropped actions against JibJab Media, the Web animators who created the popular parody (http://www.jibjab.com/thislandmain.asp) of the U.S. presidential campaign. Full story

EFF Scores Landmark Win for P2P

In August, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals made a crucial decision in support of technology innovators by declaring that distributors of the peer-to-peer software Grokster and Morpheus cannot be held liable for the infringing activities of their users. The Electronic Frontier Foundation argued on behalf of Streamcast, the creator of the Morpheus software, in a case that pitted dozens of entertainment conglomerates against two small software companies. http://www.eff.org/news/archives/2004_08.php#001833

IMLS Awards $13.8 Million

The Institute of Museum and Library Services, the primary source of federal funds for U.S. museums and libraries, announced grants in five categories of its National Leadership Grants. Over $13 million is awarded to 44 museum and libraries throughout the U.S. The recipients will match the awards with an additional $14,767,538. http://www.imls.gov/whatsnew/stategrants0904nlg.htm

Australian Free-Trade Bargain Raises Concerns
The free-trade agreement between Australia and the U.S. negotiated in August has meant Australia agreeing to stringent US-style provisions on intellectual property protection, including extended periods of copyright (up to 20 years longer than those currently in effect in Australia) and patenting of software. The law will not change until any agreement is signed. Full story

Taiwan Copyright Law Changes

New amendments passed by the Taiwan legislature in late August provide more protection to digital-content publications and includes more penalties, including prison.  The law now stipulates that without authorization from copyright holders, users are not allowed to decode encrypted CDs, DVDs and video and audio files from the Internet. Full story: http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2004/08/26/2003200286

Viet Nam Joins Berne Convention
On October 26, Viet Nam will officially become a member of the international treaty on copyright law, called the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. http://vietnamnews.vnagency.com.vn/2004-08/12/Stories/06.htm

Dutch Court Rules that Perfume is Covered by Copyright

A Dutch appeals court has now ruled that perfumes’ compositions, historically protected by patents and trade secrets, are also covered by copyright. http://www.cafezine.com/news_template.asp?deptid=8&id=656

Write for Information Outlook®
Do you have a success story to tell? Would you like to report or comment on trends in the profession? Information Outlook is a great place to be published. To view the 2005 editorial calendar, go to www.sla.org/content/Shop/Information/iocalendar.cfm. Writers guidelines are at www.sla.org/content/Shop/Information/writingforio/index.cfm. For more information, contact the editor.

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