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FROM THE OFFICES OF LESLEY ELLEN HARRIS

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Vol. 5, No. 3, August 7, 2001

ISSN 1489-954X

Contents:

1.. Studies, Legislation and Conventions:
Canada signs new Patent Law Treaty

WIPO database protection documents now online

Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization Act

European Union adopts artists' resale rights Directive

U.S. database protection legislation

2.. Legal Cases:
Random House denied injunction against online publisher

Authors Guild sues New York Times for copyright infringement

3.. Of Interest:
New Zealand issues copyright discussion paper

Comparative library provisions

U.S. copyright registration service

Canada introduces Electronic Copyright Fund

Digital copyright paper

Is forwarding email illegal?

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Copyright, New Media & E-Commerce News is distributed for free by the office of Lesley Ellen Harris. Information contained herein should not be relied upon or considered as legal advice. Copyright 2001 Lesley Ellen Harris. This newsletter may be forwarded, downloaded or reproduced in whole in any print or electronic format for non-commercial purposes provided that its author is acknowledged and that you cc: [log in to unmask]

This newsletter is archived with the National Library of Canada at:

http://collection.nlc-bnc.ca/100/201/300/copyright/index.html

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1.. STUDIES, LEGISLATION AND CONVENTIONS:
CANADA SIGNS NEW PATENT LAW TREATY - The Canadian government signed a new Patent Law Treaty in May 2001 to streamline the system for filing and processing patent applications. The World Intellectual Property Organization ("WIPO") accord is designed to harmonize the administrative practices of national and regional intellectual property offices. The text of the Patent Law Treaty is at http://www.wipo.int/treaties/ip/plt/index.html.

WIPO DATABASE PROTECTION DOCUMENTS NOW ONLINE - The report of the WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights meeting on database protection is now available online at http://wipo.int/eng/meetings/2001/sccr/sccr5_6.htm.

TECHNOLOGY, EDUCATION, AND COPYRIGHT HARMONIZATION ACT - On July 11, the House Subcommittee on Courts, the Internet, and Intellectual Property approved Bill S. 487, the Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization Act. Some of the distance education provisions of the TEACH Act (mentioned in the May LEH-Letter) have been criticized as impinging on academic freedom, and the SubCommittee has been working with university associations to address some of these concerns. The bill would also require the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to submit a report to Congress "describing technological protection systems that have been implemented, are available for implementation, or are proposed to be developed to protect digitized copyrighted works and prevent infringement." The bill is at http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=107_cong_bills&docid=f:s487rs.txt.pdf.

EUROPEAN UNION ADOPTS ARTISTS' RESALE RIGHTS DIRECTIVE - The European Union adopted a Directive that will give creators of original works of art the benefit of resale rights, regardless of where in the Union their works are sold. Under the Directive, an artist or his or her heirs will receive a percentage of the selling price of a work of art when the work is resold by an auctioneer, art gallery, or other art dealer, thereby allowing the artist to benefit from an appreciation in the value of his or her work. The rights will apply to any sale where the price exceeds EUR3000, and Member States have until 1 January 2010 to fully implement the provisions of the Directive. The Directive is at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/en/intprop/news/resale_en.pdf.

U.S. DATABASE PROTECTION LEGISLATION - U.S. Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Billy Tauzin announced that he and James Sensenbrenner, Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, have set a deadline for a compromise on database protection legislation. Negotiations between database producers such as Reed Elsevier, and the database user community, represented by universities and others, have so far failed to reach agreement, and Tauzin has said that if no compromise results by August, he and Sensenbrenner will draft a bill themselves.
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2.. LEGAL CASES:
RANDOM HOUSE DENIED INJUNCTION AGAINST ONLINE PUBLISHER - A U.S. District Judge denied a request by Random House for a preliminary injunction against Rosetta Books, an online publisher offering e-versions of certain Random House titles. The Judge ruled that the right to print, publish and sell books in print format does not include the right to publish the books in electronic format. The eight titles involved include novels such as Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle and William Styron's Sophie's Choice. Rosetta Books' Web site is at http://www.rosettabooks.com. The decision is at http://www.nysd.uscourts.gov/courtweb/pdf/D02NYSC/01-07687.PDF.

AUTHORS GUILD SUES NEW YORK TIMES FOR COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT - The Authors Guild and freelance writers have filed a class action suit against the New York Times for copyright infringement. The Guild wants a payment structure for future use of writers' articles on the New York Times electronic database. National Writer's Union president Jonathan Tasini, who successfully challenged the New York Times' nonpayment for online distribution of writers' articles in a Supreme Court law suit, has said that he intends to sue the paper again. The New York Times' current policy is to offer to keep writers' articles on the database without compensation, and to remove the articles if writers demand payment; the paper is set to remove more than 115,000 freelance articles because of the Tasini Supreme Court decision.
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3.. OF INTEREST
NEW ZEALAND ISSUES COPYRIGHT DISCUSSION PAPER - The New Zealand government has issued a discussion paper on digital technology and copyright. The paper addresses similar issues to those currently being considered by the World Intellectual Property Office ("WIPO"), and is at http://www.med.govt.nz/buslt/int_prop/digital/index.html.

COMPARATIVE LIBRARY PROVISIONS - A recently released paper by the Center for Copyright Studies compares exceptions for libraries appearing in copyright laws in Australia, the UK, Canada and the US. See http://www.copyright.com.au under Publications. The paper examines the differing approaches taken in these countries to meet the minimum standards of the WIPO Copyright Treaty. The Author of the Report has published an article setting out background on it in The Copyright & New Media Law Newsletter: For Libraries, Archives & Museums (Volume 2001, Issue 3 - information available from [log in to unmask])

US COPYRIGHT REGISTRATION SERVICE - On July 16th, the Software & Information Industry Association ("SIIA")introduced a copyright registration service. The service, which costs $200 US for members and $350 US for non-members, enables publishers, authors, and other copyright holders to register their copyrighted works with the U.S. Copyright Office. See: http://www.siia.net/crs/faq.html.

CANADA INTRODUCES ELECTRONIC COPYRIGHT FUND - Earlier this year, the Department of Canadian Heritage announced a new fund as part of its Canadian Digital Cultural Content Initiative. The Electronic Copyright Fund provides financial support to organizations to improve digital copyright management and simplify copyright clearance mechanisms. For more information, see http://www.pch.gc.ca/cdcci-icccn/eng/progs/ecopy.htm.

DIGITAL COPYRIGHT PAPER - The Discussion Paper on Digital Copyright Issues, developed by the Copyright Forum, a group of 13 Canadian education, library, archive and museums associations is now available at www.cla.ca/resources/copyrightforum.htm.

IS FORWARDING EMAIL ILLEGAL?-For a copy of the latest editorial from The Copyright & New Media Law Newsletter, please email [log in to unmask]

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This newsletter is prepared by Lesley Ellen Harris, a Copyright and New Media Lawyer and Consultant. Lesley is the author of the books Canadian Copyright Law (McGrawHill) and Digital Property: Currency of the 21st Century (McGrawHill - see http://www.mcgrawhill.ca/digitalproperty) Lesley can be reached at [log in to unmask], and at http://copyrightlaws.com.

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This LEH-Letter issue was prepared with the help of Beth Davies.

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