Fixing one orphan work problem and creating a new one

Matt Skelton (US Copyright Office) at a conference in DC on Friday describing the process for their work on orphan works that resulted in a "Report on Orphan works" with recommended statutory language (see http://www.copyright.gov/orphan/):

"There was a request by Hatch and Leahy last year... and then more support from Congress. Then, in January, a notice of inquiry and public comments and then reply comments. 720 initial comments and 140 reply comments. And then we had several roundtables in Washington DC... and in California with 43 participants. ... in Berkeley 21 participants. And then we had informal meetings...about 17 meetings with 24 organizations. And now the January report.."

Everyone is pretty happy the Copyright office is trying to solve the orphan works problem (you know how frustrating it is when you want to get permission to use a work but you cannot find the owner...who might be dead or just not responsive). Almost everyone, some trade associations, like media photographers, do not think it is in the interest of their members who'd rather not compete with "whatever" is available on the internet (sometimes even for free!).

But it looks as if the Copyright Office is quite satisfied about their proposed solution and recommendations: orphan works problem is real, it is elusive to quantify and describe, some situations may be adressed by existing law but many are not...so, new legislation is necessary (specific language is in the report). To summarize, they recommend a reasonnable treshold requirements for diligent search (before use) and limitation of remedies if the user can prove he conducted a reasonnable search.

One can only wish that 1 ) they would follow the same process of various public consultations regarding their work on creating new rights for webcasters (see WIPO proposed treaty that would include webcasting) and that 2) they address (before it's too late?)...the orphan works problems that will certainly come up with creating a new layer of rights on the internet. It would not make sense to fix the orphan (copyright) work problem while creating a new orphan (webcast) work problem at the same time. Unless some people are just enjoying the process?

It's not just about music

While many observers are focusing on music download related issue for the DAVSI or the new copyright and related rights in France, it is worth noting (thanks to Herve le Crosnier's post on French list "Escape") the position taken by universities and libraries on the lack of exception for educational purposes. The association of university presidents (CPU) and the association of university librarians (ABDU) are circulating a sign-on letter (see below in French) where they express their surprise that:

- France is one of the few European member states that does not include an exception for education in the implementation of the Directive;

- Legislators and the education minister have agreed that educational institutions should pay for use while they already contribute to the right owners by almost 3 millions of euros for copies of protected works; in addition, the libraries also have to pay lending rights.

The two associations are concerned that this new legislation will end up increasing the existing domination of works in English (representing the bulk of what is available online).

And they ask: does the Culture Minister responsible for this new law wish that our only reference be google and our only available resources in English?

The list of signatories is impressive. see below.

http://www.cpu.fr/ActU/Actu.asp?Id=1081&Inst=CPU
Motion relative à l'exception pédagogique
Motion CPU / ADBU

NON au paiement de droits d'auteurs sur les documents numériques ; OUI à "l'exception pédagogique" garantissant l'exonération des droits d'auteurs en faveur des activités d'enseignement et de recherche, et des bibliothèques.

La Conférence des présidents d'université (CPU) et l'Association des directeurs et des personnels de direction des bibliothèques universitaires et de la documentation (ADBU) regrettent que les débats concernant le projet de loi sur le droit d'auteur et les droits voisins dans la société de l'information se soient essentiellement focalisés sur les questions de téléchargement.

La CPU et l'ABDU rappellent que la directive européenne de 2001 sur les droits d'auteur, que cette loi transpose, prévoit "l'exception pédagogique" permettant d'exonérer de droits d'auteur les oeuvres numériques utilisées dans le cadre des activités d'enseignement et de recherche, et des bibliothèques.

La CPU et l'ABDU s'étonnent donc :

- que la France soit l'un des rares pays européens à ne pas avoir retenu dans son projet de loi une telle exception ;

- que le législateur et le Ministère de l'éducation nationale aient accepté de faire contribuer les établissements d'enseignement, au premier rang desquels les universités et les bibliothèques, au paiement du droit d'auteur pour l'ensemble des utilisations qu'ils peuvent faire d'oeuvres de l'esprit alors que les universités contribuent déjà à la défense du droit d'auteur en versant, près de 3 millions d'euros pour la photocopie d'oeuvres protégées (la fameuse lutte contre le "photocopillage") ; les bibliothèques quant à elles doivent déjà faire face au paiement de droits de prêt diminuant fortement leur pouvoir d'achat.

La CPU et l'ADBU dénoncent une législation qui risque d'aboutir à une domination accrue de la littérature de langue anglaise déjà majoritaire parmi les ressources d'information disponibles en ligne. Le Ministère de la culture, responsable de cette loi, souhaite-t-il que notre seule référence soit Google et que nos seules sources soient les données anglo-saxonnes ?

En conséquence, la CPU et l'ABDU demandent au Ministère de la culture de proposer au Parlement d'accepter l'exonération prévue par la directive, comme l'ont déjà fait nos pays voisins et en appellent au Parlement qui, doit à l'instar des parlements des pays européens, permettre aux universités et aux bibliothèques d'assurer leur mission et de garantir l'accès à la culture française.
24/02/2006

Liens en relation avec le sujet :
Les signataires
Aix Marseille 1 - Provence, Paul TORDO
Aix Marseille 2 - Méditerranée, Yvon BERLAND
Aix Marseille 3 - Paul Cézanne, Philippe TCHAMITCHIAN
Amiens - Picardie Jules Verne, Gilles DEMAILLY
Angers, Alain BARREAU
Antilles - Guyane, Alain ARCONTE
Arras - Artois, Jacques SYS
Avignon et Pays du Vaucluse, Michel VOLLE
Belfort - Montbéliard, Pascal FOURNIER
Besançon - Franche-Comté, Claude CONDE
Bordeaux 1 - Sciences et Technologies, Alain BOUDOU
Bordeaux 2 - Victor Segalen, Bernard BEGAUD
Bordeaux 3 - Michel de Montaigne, SINGARAVELOU
Bordeaux 4 - Montesquieu, Jean-Pierre LABORDE
Brest - Bretagne Occidentale, Jean-Claude BODÉRÉ
Bretagne-Sud - Lorient - Vannes, Eric MARTIN
Caen - Basse-Normandie, Nicole LE QUERLER
Cergy-Pontoise, Thierry COULHON
Chambéry - Savoie, Claude JAMEUX
Clermont-Ferrand 1 - Auvergne, Annie VEYRE
Clermont-Ferrand 2 - Blaise Pascal, Albert ODOUARD
CNAM, Laurence PAYE-JEANNENEY
Compiègne, Ronan STEPHAN
Corse - Pascal Paoli, Antoine AÏELLO
Dijon - Bourgogne, Jean-Claude FORTIER
Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Danièle HERVIEU-LÉGER
Ecole Normale Supérieure, Monique CANTO SPERBER
Ecole Normale Supérieure de Cachan, Claire DUPAS
Ecole Normale Supérieure Lettres et Sciences Humaines, Olivier FARON
Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon, Philippe GILLET
Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Marie-Françoise COUREL
Evry - Val d'Essonne, Daniel ANDRÉ
Grenoble 1 - Joseph Fourier, Yannick VALLEE
Grenoble 2 - Pierre Mendes France, Claude COURLET
Grenoble 3 - Stendhal, Patrick CHEZAUD
INSA Rouen, Roger GOGLU
INSA Toulouse, Louis CASTEX
Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris, Richard DESCOINGS
Institut de Physique du Globe, Vincent COURTILLOT
INALCO, Jacques LEGRAND
Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble, Paul JACQUET
Institut National Polytechnique de Lorraine, Louis SCHUFFENECKER
Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse, Gilbert CASAMATTA
La Réunion, Serge SVIZZERO
La Rochelle, Michel POUYLLAU
Le Havre, Camille GALAP
Le Mans - Maine, Maurice HENRY
Lille 1 - Sciences et Technologies de Lille, Hervé BAUSSART
Lille 2 - Droit et Santé, Christian SERGHERAERT
Lille 3 - Charles de Gaulle, Jean-Claude DUPAS
Limoges, Jacques FONTANILLE
Littoral - Côte d'Opale, Edward ANTHONY
Lyon 1 - Claude Bernard, Domitien DEBOUZIE
Lyon 2 - Lumière, Gilbert PUECH
Lyon 3 - Jean Moulin, Guy LAVOREL
Marne-la-Vallée, Yves LICHTENBERGER
Metz – Paul Verlaine, Richard LIOGER
Montpellier 1, Dominique DEVILLE de PERIERE
Montpellier 2, Jacques BONNAFÉ
Montpellier 3 - Paul Valéry, Jean-Marie MIOSSEC
Mulhouse - Haute Alsace, Guy SCHULTZ
Nancy 1 - Henri Poincaré, Jean-Pierre FINANCE
Nancy 2, Herbert NERY
Nantes, François RESCHE
Nice Sophia Antipolis, Albert MAROUANI
Nouvelle Calédonie, Alain FAGES
Observatoire de Paris, Daniel EGRET
Orléans, Gérald GUILLAUMET
Paris 1 - Panthéon Sorbonne, Pierre-Yves HÉNIN
Paris 2 - Panthéon Assas, Jacqueline DUTHEIL de la ROCHÈRE
Paris 3 - Sorbonne Nouvelle, Bernard BOSREDON
Paris 4 - Paris Sorbonne, Jean-Robert PITTE
Paris 5 - René Descartes, Jean-François DHAINAUT
Paris 6 - Pierre et Marie Curie, Gilbert BÉRÉZIAT
Paris 7 - Denis Diderot, Benoît EURIN
Paris 8 - Vincennes Saint-Denis, Pierre LUNEL
Paris 9 - Dauphine, Bernard de MONTMORILLON
Paris 10 - Nanterre, Olivier AUDEOUD
Paris 11 - Paris-Sud, Anita BERSELLINI
Paris 12 - Val-de-Marne, Simone BONNAFOUS
Paris 13 - Paris-Nord, Alain NEUMAN
Pau et Pays de l'Adour, Jean-Michel UHALDEBORDE
Perpignan, François FÉRAL
Poitiers, Jean-Pierre GESSON
Polynésie française, Louise PELTZER
Reims, Champagne, Ardenne, Gérard MARY
Rennes 1, Bertrand FORTIN
Rennes 2 - Haute Bretagne, Marc GONTARD
Rouen, Jean-Luc NAHEL
Saint Etienne - Jean Monnet, Robert FOUQUET
Strasbourg 1 - Louis Pasteur, Bernard CARRIÈRE
Strasbourg 2 - Marc Bloch, François-Xavier CUCHE
Strasbourg 3 - Robert Schuman, Florence BENOÎT-ROHMER
Toulon - Var, Bruno RAVAZ
Toulouse 1 - Sciences Sociales, Henry ROUSSILLON
Toulouse 3 - Paul Sabatier, Jean-François SAUTEREAU
Tours - François Rabelais, Michel LUSSAULT
Troyes, Christian LERMINIAUX
Valenciennes et Hainaut Cambresis, Marie-Pierre MAIRESSE
Versailles - Saint-Quentin en Yvelines, Sylvie FAUCHEUX

Marie-Dominique HEUSSE, présidente de l'ADBU.

Spreading broadband....

Today, I'm taking a little break from copyright and related rights but not from access work, so I just went to an interesting meeting at The Center for American Progress & Free Press.

Since high speed internet is truly becoming a basic public utility, like water, gas or electricity, it is clear that consumers and businesses have the same interest in getting broadband coverage at an affordable price. Of course not all businesses are in favor... not the broadband businesses that are trying to bar municipalities from providing wireless to their citizens. They have been trying to outlaw the practice in 13 states but have been defeated in 12 so far.

This morning, Mayor William H. Graham told the story from the point of view of the "not-techie" mayor of a small town in Indiana called Scottsburg. About 6,000 people that before he made broadband a reality, were unemployed (25% at the time) or about to become unemployed. Trying to get his citizens up to high speed, he was told he would have to spend about $6 million to get broadband! No way. So, the town spent $385,000 to bring wifi and is now providing it to 3 counties. Unemployement has fallen to 4.5% and businesses are staying in his town. But he knows he has to defeat bad legislations pushed by broadband providers again and again.

Clearly our federal government must protect us from the cable and telephone monopolies that would destroy innovative projects like Wireless Philadelphia and other cities and there are some good bills pending I heard. Municipalities must be free to decide for themselves which technologies best serve their citizens. And not just in the US, think about possiblities, real possibilities, to bridge the digital divide and provide access to the internet in countries where bringing miles of wires is not a remote possibility.

And how to build your own networking system in any municipality, company or neighborhood at:
http://www.communityinternet.us/
Freepress makes it look easy!

More on politics of wifi in the US:
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2006/0601.podesta.html

Program of the event and bios of speakers (all excellent).

Get in touch with Frannie Wellings for more info.

Frannie Wellings
Program Manager
Free Press
(202) 265-1490 x 21
http://www.freepress.net



Let There Be Wi-Fi: Community Broadband and the Future of the Internet
Jim Baller, Founder, Baller Herbst Law Group
Mayor William H. Graham, Scottsburg, Indiana
Greg Richardson, Founder and Managing Partner, Civitium LLC

Moderated by:

Ben Scott, Policy Director, Free Press
Introduction by:
Mark Lloyd, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress

Most people know “broadband” as an alternative to their old, slow dial-up Internet connection. But in terms of powering economies, broadband could be the 21st century equivalent of electricity. Broadband is about much more than checking your e-mail or browsing on eBay. In the near future, telephone, television, radio and the Web all will be delivered to your home via a single broadband connection. In the not-so-distant future, broadband will be an indispensable part of economic, personal, and public life. The countries that achieve universal broadband are going to hold significant advantages over those that don't. And so far, the United States is poised to be a follower—not a leader—in the broadband economy.

Despite fierce opposition from telecom companies and their political allies, some municipalities are finding ways to provide broadband to their residents. Community Internet projects are already up and running in dozens of small towns like Scottsburg, Indiana, and are coming soon to bigger cities like Philadelphia, Portland, and Minneapolis. These cities recognize broadband as perhaps the single most important factor in transforming their local economies and the lives of average citizens. Community Internet could revolutionize and democratize communications in this country. But the major obstacle to universal, affordable broadband access for all Americans is not economic or technical. It's political.

Please join us for a discussion on the importance of a universal, affordable broadband access for bridging the digital divide and helping to drive American economic competitiveness in the 21st century.

Friday, February 10, 2006
Program: 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM

Center for American Progress
1333 H Street NW, 10th Floor
Washington, DC 20005
Map and Directions

Biographies:

Jim Baller is the founder of the Baller Herbst Law Group, a national law firm based in Washington and Minneapolis. He is a leading expert on Community Internet, representing local governments and public power utilities in matters involving telecommunications, Internet access, and barriers to the public-sector entry into communications. His clients include the American Public Power Association (APPA), the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors (NATOA), regional and state utility associations and municipal leagues, and numerous individual local governments and public power utilities in more than 35 states. Mr. Baller is a frequent speaker and author on communications matters and a graduate of Dartmouth College and Cornell Law School.

William H. Graham has been Mayor of the City of Scottsburg since 1988. When he took office, the city had one of the highest unemployment rates in the state and was on the decline. He has been instrumental in attracting new businesses and keeping old ones, in large part due to his aggressive communications planning. When the telecommunications and cable companies of the state were unwilling to offer broadband to his residents, Mayor Graham started a city broadband utility. He managed to retain the employers who threatened to leave if they were forced to stick with dial-up Internet access, and with them, increased the jobs and commerce of his city.

Greg Richardson is the Founder and Managing Partner for Civitium LLC. Civitium is the market-leading management and technology consulting firm for municipal governments and institutions that are applying wireless technology as the foundation for Digital Communities. Civitium serves as the lead advisor for many of the most high-profile Digital Community initiatives in the world, including Philadelphia, San Francisco and Houston. Prior to founding Civitium, he served as the Director of Wireless Consulting for Siemens in the United States.

Ben Scott is Policy Director of Free Press. He heads up the Washington, D.C. office, dedicated to monitoring and analyzing media policymaking to increase public awareness and participation. Before joining Free Press, he worked as a legislative fellow handling telecommunications policy for Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in the U.S. House of Representatives. He is also in the final stages of his doctoral degree in communications from the University of Illinois. He is the author of several scholarly articles on American journalism history and the politics of media regulation as well as co-editor of two books, Our Unfree Press (The New Press, 2004) and The Future of Media (Seven Stories, 2005).

Mark Lloyd is a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress focusing on communications policy issues, including universal service, advanced telecommunications deployment, media concentration and diversity. From the fall of 2002 until the summer of 2004, Mr. Lloyd was a Martin Luther King, Jr. Visiting Scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he taught communications policy and wrote and conducted research on the relationship between communications policy and strong democratic communities. He also served as the Executive Director of the Civil Rights Forum on Communications Policy, a non-profit, non-partisan project he co-founded in 1997 to bring civil rights principles and advocacy to the communications policy debate. He also has nearly 20 years of experience as a print and broadcast journalist, including work as a reporter and producer at NBC and CNN, and is the recipient of several awards including an Emmy and a Cine Golden Eagle. He has served on the boards of directors of dozens of national and local organizations, including the Independent Television Service, OMB Watch, the Center for Democracy and Technology, and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund. He has also served as a consultant to the Clinton White House, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Open Society Institute and the Smithsonian Institution. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan and his law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center.

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The Center for American Progress is a nonpartisan research and educational institute dedicated to promoting a strong, just and free America that ensures opportunity for all. We believe that Americans are bound together by a common commitment to these values and we aspire to ensure that our national policies reflect these values. We work to find progressive and pragmatic solutions to significant domestic and international problems and develop policy proposals that foster a government that is "of the people, by the people, and for the people."

Free Press is a national organization working to increase informed public participation in crucial media policy debates. The ultimate aim of Free Press is to generate a range of policies that will produce a more competitive and democratic media system with a strong nonprofit and noncommercial sector. For more information on the promise of Community Internet, please visit www.freepress.net/communityinternet .