LCA Supports Opening FTC Investigation on Consumer Deception
The Library Copyright Alliance, of which SLA is a member, wrote a letter to Deborah Platt Majoras, Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), in strong support of a request for an investigation and complaint for injunctive relief filed by the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA). The CCIA filed a FTC complaint on behalf of consumers against Major League Baseball, the National Football League, NBC/Universal and several other corporations. CCIA alleges that the named corporations have misled consumers for years, often misrepresenting their rights through deceptive and threatening statements.  The complaint says false and misleading copyright warnings provided by publishers and motion picture distributors confuse library patrons and interfere with libraries fulfilling their mission.

Read LCA Letter.
Read Full Complaint.
Read CIIA Article.
Read Wall Street Journal Article.

Update on NIH Public Access Legislation
Several organizations, including SLA, wrote a letter to the U.S. Senate in strong support of timely online access to articles reporting the results of government-funded research. The group urged the Appropriations Committee to include language directing National Institutes of Health (NIH) to make its public access policy mandatory. The U.S. House of Representatives has now approved a measure directing the NIH to provide free public online access to agency-funded research findings within 12 months of their publication in a peer-reviewed journal. The House passed the provision as part of the FY2008 Labor, HHS, and Education Appropriations Bill. Alliance for Taxpayer Access (ATA), of which SLA is a member, has strongly advocated the passage of this measure. Read ATA?s Press Release.

Ruling in Perfect 10 v. Google Case
In Perfect 10 v. Google, the Ninth Circuit ruled with Google on most points. Perfect 10 had alleged that Google directly infringed by displaying thumbnail images of Perfect 10 photos in its image search results, as well as linking to third-party Web sites that displayed full-sized infringing images. Further, Perfect 10 alleged that Google was secondarily liable for linking to these infringing images. The court ruled that Google was not directly or secondarily liable for linking to the full sized images. Read Brief.

The Open Library - A New On-line Library Endeavor
A new project, recently launched in the U.S. but global in scale, endeavors to create an online catalogue of every book in every language ever published. The idea behind The Open Library is to build a virtual library that stores details of not just every book on sale, or every important book, or even every book in English; but simply every book." Read Article.

UGA Possible Recipient of New Special Library
Pending approval by the Georgia General Assembly of an estimated $27 million - $30 million in state funding, the University of Georgia (UGA) could break ground on a new state-of-the-art special collections library by 2009. UGA librarian Bill Potter commented in the LJ Academic Newswire that the building would house three special current collections libraries and is now the top university project for new state funding. University officials say they are raising their portion of the necessary funding. Slated for 150,000 square feet, the new building would feature a large, central shared atrium that will be used for special exhibits and public receptions." Read Article.

Useful Link: The EPA National Library Network
The Environmental Protection Agency?s national library network provides access to information about the environment and related scientific, technical, management, and policy information. The Web site provides information on the network, library services and repositories, the online library system, National Library Network News and National Environmental Publications Internet Site (NEPIS), part of the National Service Center for Environmental Publications. Click here for information about your EPA Regional Office.

Chocolate Bars Bring Copyright Infringement Action in Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada has issued a landmark ruling on parallel importation and copyright law in that country. The case, resolved in July, involved the parallel importation of Toblerone and Cote D'Or chocolates from Europe into Canada. Kraft alleged that the distribution of the chocolates by Euro Excellence in Canada violated copyright in the artwork on the product wrappers. The Canadian Federal Court issued an injunction and ordered Euro Excellence to pay damages.

Read Canada

Supreme Court decision in Excellence v. Kraft.
Read article.

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