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Request from Association of Research Libraries re: Copyright Term Extension Act



SAA is one of several organisations that is signing on with an  amicus brief 
in the Eldred vs. Ashcroft case re the Copyright Term Extension Act.  They 
are seeking input from archivists, among others, to strengthen arguements, 
especially regarding situations in which the CTEA has thwarted/hindered 
publishing intentions.  The full text as it appeared in H-Announce is quoted 
below.  Please note that responses should be directed to Prue Adler 
<prue@arl.org> or to Amy Masciola <amy@arl.org>
______________________________-
From: "Mark Kornbluh, H-Net Executive Director" <hnet3@mail.h-net.msu.edu> 
List Editor: H-Net Announcements <announce@mail.h-net.msu.edu> 
Editor's Subject: Request for Comments: Copyright Term Extension Act 
Author's Subject: Request for Comments: Copyright Extension Act 
Date Written: Sun, 10 Mar 2002 20:36:35 -0500 (EST) 
Date Posted: Mon, 11 Mar 2002 09:57:05 -0500 


Friends:

The US Supreme Court has agreed to hear Eldred v. Ashcroft, a case
which challenges the constitutionality of the Sonny Bono Copyright Term
Extension Act (CTEA). Many scholarly societies, library, and museum
organizations are requesting information from researchers, teachers,
libraries, and archivists about their experiences with the Copyright
Term Extension Act. The College Art Association and the Association of
Research Libraries are each preparing an Amicus Brief in support of
Eric Eldred against the CETA. Other scholarly societies, including the
American Historical Association, will either sign on with one of these
amicus briefs or file their own.

Below is a note from the ARL explaining its position and requesting
information about individual experiences under the CETA. The ARL asks
that you write directly to them if you have had experiences with the CTEA.

Sincerely,


Mark

Mark Kornbluh
Executive Director, H-Net: Humanities and Social Sciences OnLine

---------- Forwarded message ----------
 >March 7, 2002
 >
 >TO:  Directors of ARL Libraries
 >FROM:  Prue Adler
 >RE:  Update on Copyright Term Extension
 >
 >Summary:
 >
 >Much to the surprise of many legal scholars, on February 19, 2002, the
 >Supreme Court agreed to hear Eldred v. Ashcroft, a case which challenges
 >the constitutionality of the Sonny Bono Term Extension Act (CTEA). In
 >1998, Congress through the CTEA, extended the copyright term of
 >protection an additional twenty years from the life of the author plus
 >50 to life plus 70. For works for hire, the new term is 95 years. The
 >CTEA has resulted in a significant decline in works entering the public
 >domain--resources critically important to the research and education
 >enterprise. Indeed, an editorial in the Washington Post notes, "the
 >resulting terms are far too long to cordon off works that should long
 >since have entered the public domain, to mingle with, be reshaped by and
 >enrich the general culture."
 ><http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38827-2002Mar4.html>
 >
 >We need your assistance in identifying examples of problems that you
 >face with the extension of copyright term and with the delay of
 >information resources moving into the public domain.
 >
 >Background of Case:
 >
 >Lawrence Lessig, Professor of Law, Stanford University Law School, has
 >been at the forefront of the CTEA challenge and has written extensively
 >about copyright issues. In February 2001, a federal appeals court found
 >that retroactive term extensions by Congress were permissible under the
 >Copyright Clause and rejected the argument that CTEA is
 >unconstitutional. The Court found that Congress' grant of an additional
 >twenty years was constitutional as it was "limited." The Constitution
 >empowers Congress to grant copyright protection for "limited times" as a
 >means of "promoting" the arts and sciences. In Eldred, Lessig and others
 >argue that Congress violated this clause by "creating in practice an
 >unlimited term" for copyrights.
 >
 >Libraries/Archivists/DFC's Amicus Brief:
 >
 >ARL, along with the American Library Association, the American
 >Association of Law Libraries, the Digital Future Coalition, the Medical
 >Library Association, and the Society of American Archivists filed an
 >amici curiae brief on December 13, 2001, requesting that the Supreme
 >Court take the case. Our brief was written by students at the
 >Glushko-Samuelson Intellectual Property Law Clinic, Washington College
 >of Law, under the guidance of Professors Peter Jaszi and Ann Shalleck.
 >The brief is available at
 ><http://www.arl.org/info/frn/copy/ashcroft.html>. Additional information
 >concerning term extension is available at
 ><http://www.arl.org/info/frn/copy/extension.html>. A number of other
 >organizations also filed briefs requesting that the Court accept the
 >case.
 >
 >Now that the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case, members of the
 >Shared Legal Capability (ARL, AALL, ALA, MLA, and SLA) will be filing an
 >amicus brief. Its purpose will be to explain the impact of the
 >twenty-year extension on the public domain and the deleterious impact on
 >access to information that supports scholarship and teaching. We will
 >again be joined by the Society of American Archivists. Other
 >associations, organizations, and institutions have expressed an interest
 >in joining the brief. In addition, there will be a number of other
 >briefs filed that challenge the CTEA from different perspectives.
 >Technically, the briefs must be filed by April 5, 2002, but a 45-day
 >extension has been requested; the new filing date would be May 20. Oral
 >arguments before the Supreme Court will occur in the fall of 2002.
 >
 >Next Steps for ARL:
 >
 >To strengthen our amicus brief, it is very important to include examples
 >of the following:
 >
 >1) titles or list of works that your library or a member of the faculty
 >had hoped to use (e.g., digitization projects or materials for a course)
 >that would have fallen into the public domain but are now covered by the
 >additional extension
 >
 >2) difficulties you may have encountered in obtaining permissions for
 >older works and /or for those that are now covered by the 20-year
 >extension; this could include difficulties in tracking owners/ownership
 >information of older materials, expensive fees, and the like.
 >
 >Since we dont know if the extension will be granted, we will need these
 >examples as soon as possible. The end of March would be the most
 >helpful. I will be back in touch if we hear that the extension has been
 >granted. Please send these either to me <prue@arl.org> or to Amy
 >Masciola <amy@arl.org>. Please let me know if there is additional
 >information that I can provide.
 >
 >Thank you very much for your assistance. This is a very important
 >endeavor for our community.
 >
 >PSA 3/07/02
 >
 >
 >--
 >Judith Matz
 >Communications Officer
 >Association of Research Libraries
 >21 Dupont Circle, NW  #800
 >Washington, DC  20036-1118
 >Phone  202-296-2296
 >Fax  202-872-0884
 >judith@arl.org
 >www.arl.org

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