- Comments Provided to Committee on the EPA
- Organizations Request Hearing on PRO-IP Act
- Gratitude Expressed for the Support of Orphan Works
- Harvard University Adopts Open Access Requirement for Faculty
- U.S. House Explores Net Neutrality Antitrust Law
- New E.U. Technology Institute to Open
- E.C. Strives to Raise Broadband in the E.U.
- Save the Date: National Library Legislative Day - 13-14 May 2008
Comments Provided to Committee on the EPA
On 22 March, SLA provided comments for the record regarding the House Committee on Science and Technology's Subcommittee on Investigations & Oversight on the EPA. The comments specifically addressed the issue of authentication of digitized documents housed in EPA libraries that may be required in legal proceedings. Read letter.
Organizations Request Hearing on PRO-IP Act
The Library Copyright Alliance (LCA), of which SLA is a member, and others wrote a letter to the chairman and ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee in support of the Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act's (H.R. 4279) moving forward in the legislative process. Given the importance of the structure and operation of the current statutory damage framework and alternative approaches that would promote innovation, the LCA is requesting a hearing on this subject. Read letter.
Gratitude Expressed for the Support of Orphan Works
The Library Copyright Alliance, of which SLA is a member, delivered letters to U.S. Representatives Howard L. Berman (D, California), Howard Coble (R, North Carolina), and the members of the Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property expressing gratitude to the House Committee on Science and Technology's Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight for holding a hearing on orphan works. The letter expressed gratitude that the subcommittee has begun its process for considering this issue in this Congress as well as the hope that the protection the legislation is intended to provide users of orphan works is not diluted. Read letter.
Harvard University Adopts Open Access Requirement for Faculty
The Harvard University Faculty of Arts and Sciences voted to give the university a worldwide license to make each faculty member's scholarly articles available and to exercise the copyright in the articles, provided that the articles are not sold for a profit. Harvard will take advantage of the license by hosting the Arts and Sciences faculty's scholarly articles in an open access repository, making them available worldwide for free.
Read press release.
Read news story.
U.S. House Explores Net Neutrality Antitrust Law
At a hearing of the committee's Antitrust Task Force, House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D, Michigan) said that Congress may need to amend antitrust law to keep broadband providers from interfering with Internet traffic. Currently, independent musicians and bloggers can gain the same attention as established bands and large news sites, but broadband providers have recently attempted to block or slow some Web content. Read news story.
New E.U. Technology Institute to Open
After two years of discussion in Brussels, the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) is set to start operating this summer. The EIT will strive to boost Europe's investment in technology and innovation and its capacity to attract the world's leading researchers and scientists, as well as promote a link between academia and the private sector. Read news story.
E.C. Strives to Raise Broadband in the E.U.
According to a top telecoms regulator, the European Commission wants to raise broadband internet penetration in the E.U. to 30 per cent by 2010 in an effort to drive economic growth. Broadband use in Europe has reached 20 percent overall, still lagging behind 22.1 per cent in the U.S. Increasing the use of broadband is seen as key to boosting competition in the retail sector, helping set up new businesses, particularly in more remote regions, offering consumers more choice and driving down prices. Read news story.
Save the Date: National Library Legislative Day - 13-14 May 2008
SLA, in collaboration with the American Library Association, will participate in National Library Legislative Day 13-14 May 2008. 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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