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In the Matter of Mandatory Deposit of Published Electronic Works Available Only Online: Comments of ALA and ARL

The ALA and ARL thank the Library of Congress (LOC) for proposing to amend its regulations governing mandatory deposit of electronic works published in the United States and available only online under 37 CFR § 202.19(c)(5). ALA and ARL recognize that significant technological advances have been made and as such, believe this initiative to preserve and provide access to journal literature is extremely important, especially in light of the increasing number of journals being published only online.

pdf loc-deposit-comments-15jul09.pdf

 
     

How Fair Use Prevailed in the Harry Potter Case

In a highly publicized decision issued on September 8, 2008, US District Court Judge Robert Patterson ruled that Steven Vander Ark's Harry Potter Lexicon infringed J.K. Rowling's copyright. Although J. K. Rowling prevailed in the litigation, the big winner actually was fair use.

pdf band-harry-potter-29sept08.pdf

 
 

A Victory For Media Neutrality: The Eleventh Circuit's En Banc Decision in Greenberg v. National Geographic Society (Jul. 9, 2008)

Sitting en banc, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit on June 30, 2008, decided Greenberg v. National Geographic Society, finding that the CD-ROM set, "The Complete National Geographic" (CNG), was a privileged revision of a collective work under 17 U.S.C. § 201(c) and not a "new collective work" in violation of Mr. Greenberg's copyrights. This case is in line with the Second Circuit's decision in Faulkner v. National Geographic Enters., further clarified the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in New York Times Co. v. Tasini, and importantly, upheld the "long embraced doctrine of media neutrality" that the "transfer of a work between media does not alter the character of that work for copyright purposes."

pdf greenberg-v-natgeo-summary-09jul08.pdf

 
 

Greenberg v. National Geographic Society: Amicus Brief in support of National Geographic Society

Two photographers claimed that the inclusion of their photographs in the National Geographic Society's (NGS) CD-ROM version of the NGS magazine violated their copyrights and that the NGS was not exempt under Section 201(c) of the Copyright Act.

pdf amici-greenberg-18oct07.pdf

 
 

Greenberg v. National Geographic Society, Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida (Jun. 13, 2007)

This case presents the question of whether Section 201(c) of the Copyright Act accords a magazine publisher a privilege to produce a digital compilation that contains exact images of its past magazine issues.

pdf greenbergreversal13june07.pdf

 
 

In the Matter of Digital Broadcast Copy Protection

Comments arguing that a broadcast flag rule adopted by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) could effectively limit the public's access to information, and impair its ability to use content in new and innovative ways.

pdf broadcast-flag-commentssept07.pdf

 
 

Letter to Deborah Platt Majoras re: In the Matter of Consumer Fair Use and Related Rights (Aug. 1, 2007)

Letter from library associations in support of the the request for investigation and complaint for injunctive relief filed by the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA) in the matter of Consumer Fair Use and Related Rights.

pdf ftc_complaint_01aug07.pdf

 
 

In the Matter of Petition for Expedited Rulemaking to Establish Technical Requirements and Standards Pursuant to Section 107(b) of the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act: Joint Comments

Joint Comments Submitted on Behalf of American Library Association, Association of Research Libraries, Center for Democracy & Technology, Champaign-Urbana Community Wireless Network, Electronic Frontier Foundation, Media Access Project, The Rutherford Institute, and the Voice On The Net (Von) Coalition.

pdf joint_comments_calea_25july07.pdf

 
   

Eldred v. Ashcroft: Amicus Brief in support of Eldred

The U. S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ("DC Circuit") erroneously held that Congress' grant of twenty additional years of copyright protection as set forth in the Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA) 2 is constitutional.

pdf amicus-eldred-20may02.pdf

 
   

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios v. Grokster and Jerry Leiber Music v. Grokster: Amicus brief in support of Grokster

Brief of Amici Curiae American Civil Liberties Union, American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, American Library Association, Association of Research Libraries, American Association of Law Libraries, Medical Library Association, Special Libraries Association, Internet Archive, and Project Gutenberg in Support of Defendants-Appellees and Urging Affirmance of The District Court's Grant of Partial Summary Judgment.

pdf amicus-grokster-26sep03.pdf

 
 

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc, v. Grokster, Ltd.: Amicus brief in support of Grokster.

Brief of the American Civil Liberties Union, the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of San Diego and Imperial Counties, the American Library Association, the Association of Research Libraries, the American Association of Law Libraries, the Medical Library Association, the Law Library Association, the Internet Archive, and Project Gutenberg as amici curiae in support of respondents.

pdf amicus-supremecourt-grokster-2003.pdf

 
     

In the Matter of Exemption to Prohibition on Circumvention of Copyright Protection Systems for Access Control Technologies: Comments from the Library Associations

Comments submitted in response to the US Copyright Office's Notice of Inquiry (NOI) dated October 15, 2002, on whether noninfringing uses of certain classes of works are likely to be adversely affected by section 1201(a)(1) of the Copyright Act, which prohibits the circumvention of measures that effectively control access to copyrighted works. These comments were submitted on behalf of five major library associations--American Association of Law Libraries (AALL), American Library Association (ALA), Association of Research Libraries (ARL), Medical Library Association (MLA), and Special Libraries Association (SLA).

pdf noi1201comments18dec02.pdf

 
 

Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act and Broadband Access and Services: Request for Stay

This Request for a Stay seeks both a stay of the Commission's First Report & Order pending the release by the Commission of the subsequent orders anticipated by that first Order, and a stay of the First Report & Order pending review of that Order by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

pdf calea-request-stay-23nov05.pdf

 
               

Recording Industry Association of America, Inc., Appellee v. Verizon Internet Services, Inc., Appellant

On December 19, 2003, reversing the rulings of the lower court, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled in favor of Verizon. In a case with significant implications for users of file sharing systems, the decision stopped the RIAA from gaining access to names of individuals that the RIAA suspected of illegally downloading music from the Internet. The suits filed by the RIAA have focused on section 512(h), the subpoena provision of the DMCA, that allows any copyright owner or representative to "request the clerk of any US district court to issue a subpoena" to force an Internet service provider (ISP) to identify "an alleged infringer."

pdf riaavverizon.pdf
 
 

Dastar Corporation, Petitioner v. Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation Et al.

In this case, we are asked to decide whether ß43(a) of the Lanham Act, 15 U. S. C. ß1125(a), prevents the unaccredited copying of a work, and if so, whether a court may double a profit award under ß1117(a), in order to deterfuture infringing conduct.

pdf dastar603.pdf

 
     
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