- Register Now for the 19 March "Government Secrecy: Censoring Your Right to Know" Free Webcast
- Public Access Mandate Made Law
- Useful Open Access Links
- PRO IP Act Proposes to Weaken "One Work" Rule
- Amicus Brief Filed in Geller Copyright Infringement Case
- Concern Expressed Regarding FOIA Funding
- Decision Reached in Hebrew Academy vs. Goldman
- UK Proposes Piracy Sanctions Against ISPs
- EU Regulators Could Toughen Restrictions on Search Data Storage
- Save the Date: National Library Legislative Day, 13-14 May
Register Now for the 19 March "Government Secrecy: Censoring Your Right to Know" Free Webcast
On Wednesday, 19 March from 1:00pm - 2:30pm eastern U.S. time several organizations, including SLA, will present a dialogue on executive branch secrecy and more as part of Sunshine Week. The event, to be held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., will be webcasted to sites around the USA. Viewing the webcast is free! It is requested that you register to do so. A satellite downlink option will be available for a fee. Sites are encouraged to promote and show the national program and plan local programs tailored to open government issues in their communities. Audience members at all sites viewing the live event will have an opportunity to call in and e-mail. Save the date flyer.
Public Access Mandate Made Law
President Bush has signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2007 (H.R. 2764), which includes a provision directing the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to provide the public with open online access to findings from its funded research. This is the first time the U.S. government has mandated public access to research funded by a major agency. Read press release.
Eight organizations, including SLA, wrote a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt thanking him for his past support of open and timely Internet access to NIH research articles and urging him to ensure that the policy be implemented without delay. Read letter.
Letters were also written to Sen.Tom Harkin (D, Iowa) and Rep. David Obey (D, Wisconsin) thanking them for their leadership in delivering public access to publicly funded research. Read letter to Sen. Harkin. Read letter to Rep. Obey.
Useful Open Access Links
In anticipation of the 7 April implementation of the NIH Public Access Policy, the Association of Research Libraries has published a list of links to available resources. View links.
PRO IP Act Proposes to Weaken One Work Rule
The Library Copyright Alliance, of which SLA is a member, and others have submitted comments on a meeting hosted by the Copyright Office. The comments, entitled "The Threat Posed by Inflated Statutory Damages", referred to the Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act (H.R. 4279) (PRO IP). The PRO IP Act proposes to weaken the long-established one work rule, which today imposes a measure of certainty on how copyright statutory damages are calculated. Under current law, a copyright plaintiff may seek up to $150,000 per work infringed. In the case of compilations, the one work rule recognizes that the compilation is being marketed as one work, although it may in fact consist of multiple components. Read comments.
SLA and other groups have filed an amicus brief in the Eastern District Court of Pennsylvania in support of Electronic Frontier Foundation client Brian Sapient. Entertainer Uri Geller has sued Sapient for copyright infringement for uploading to YouTube an eight-second clip in which Geller claims copyright. At issue is the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, which makes it easy for Geller and others to persuade Internet companies to remove videos and music simply by sending so-called takedown notices that claim copyright ownership. Most companies, including YouTube, do almost nothing to investigate the claims. Read Amicus Brief. Read news story.
Concern Expressed Regarding FOIA Funding
Forty-three organizations, including SLA, wrote letters to congressional Appropriations Committee chairs and ranking members expressing concern that Bush proposed FY 2009 budget attempts to repeal a section of law and shift funding for a new Office of Government Information Services at the National Archives and Records Administration to the Department of Justice.
The letters urged congressional appropriators to protect the OPEN Government Acts creation of the Office of Government Information Services at the National Archives and Records Administration. Read Senate Letter. Read House Letter.
Decision Reached in Hebrew Academy v. GoldmanThe California Supreme Court has issued its decision in the Hebrew Academy v. Goldman case, which presented the question of whether the single-publication rule applies to publications that receive an extremely limited distribution. As explained in the ruling below, the court concluded that under the single-publication rule, the statute of limitations on a cause of action for defamation based upon a statement in a book published with general circulation "ran from the date the book was first generally distributed to the public, regardless of the date on which plaintiff actually learned of the existence of the book and read its contents." The court expressly did not address, however, "the applicability of the single-publication rule to written publications that receive an extremely limited distribution."
In March 2006, SLA, along with other groups, filed an amicus brief in support of Goldman. The brief argues that the placement of copies of an oral history on the shelves of a few libraries meets the requirements of the "single publication rule" for statute of limitations purposes in a defamation case. Read Supreme Court decision. Read Full Amicus Brief.
U.K. Proposes Piracy Sanctions against ISPs
The U.K. government has proposed that internet service providers must take concrete steps to curb illegal downloads or face legal sanctions. The proposal aims to curb the estimated 6 million U.K. broadband users who download files illegally every year. If the government proceeds with the legislation, the U.K. would be one of the first countries to impose such sanctions. Read news story.
E.U. Regulators Could Toughen Restrictions on Search Data Storage
More stringent regulations may be imposed by European regulators regarding the length of time search engines such as Google and Yahoo can retain user data. The Article 29 Working Party has expressed concerns that data from searches and cookies could potentially be used to build up detailed user profiles and violate privacy laws. The Working Party derives its name from Article 29 of the European Privacy Directive 95/46/EC. Read news story.
Save the Date: National Library Legislative Day, 13-14 May
SLA, in collaboration with the American Library Association, will participate in National Library Legislative Day 13-14 May. Information professionals are invited to Washington, D.C., to participate in the two-day event that will focus on advocacy and issue training sessions, interact with Capitol Hill insiders and visit Congressional offices to support legislation that backs libraries. Read more.
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