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Re: Federal Copyright Protection of Sound Recordings Fixed Before February 15, 1972

The Association of Research Libraries and the American Library Association provide reply comments on the desirability of bringing under federal protection sound recordings fixed before February 15, 1972.

pdf arl-ala_soundrecordingcomments_13apr11.pdf

 
 

American Library Association, et al., v. Federal Communications Commission and United States of America (2005)

This case arises out of events related to the nation's transition from analog to digital television service ("DTV").

pdf bfappealsruling0505.pdf

 
 

ALA, et al. v. FCC: Reply Brief

Reply brief concerning the Federal Communications Commission broadcast flag mandate.

pdf broadcast-flag-reply-2004.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

 
 

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

 
                   

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

 
 

Testimony of Laura N. Gasaway, Concerning Promotion of Distance Education Through Digital Technologies (Jan. 27, 1999)

Testimony on distance education given on behalf of the Association of American Universities, the American Council on Education, and the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges.

pdf distance-ed-testomony-gasaway.pdf

 
 

Golan v. Holder: A Farewell to Constitutional Challenges to Copyright Laws

On January 13, 2012, the Supreme Court by a 6-2 vote affirmed the Tenth Circuit decision in Golan v. Holder. The case concerned the constitutionality of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act (URAA), which restored copyright in foreign works that had entered into the public domain because the copyright owners had failed to comply with formalities such as notice; or because the U.S. did not have copyright treaties in place with the country at the time the work was created (e.g., the Soviet Union)

pdf golan_summary_06feb12.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, 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

 
 

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

 
 

A Guide For the Perplexed Part IV: The Rejection of the Google Books Settlement

On March 22, 2011, Judge Denny Chin rejected the proposed settlement in copyright infringement litigation over the Google Library Project. Judge Chin found that the settlement was not "fair, reasonable, and adequate" as required by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Judge Chin issued the decision over a year after the fairness hearing he conducted. His opinion agrees in large measure with the objections to the settlement asserted by the U.S. Department of Justice at the hearing and in its written submissions. This paper discusses the opinion and where it leaves Google Books Search.

pdf guide-for-perplexed-part4-apr11.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

 
 

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

 
 

Supplemental Library Association Comments on the Proposed Google Books Settlement

The American Library Association, the Association of Research Libraries, and the Association of College and Research Libraries (the Library Associations) submit these comments to address developments relating to the proposed Settlement that have arisen since the Library Associations filed their initial comments with this Court on May 4, 2009. In particular, these comments discuss the amendment Google and the University of Michigan (Michigan) entered into on May 20, 2009 that expanded the 2004 agreement that allowed Google to scan books in the Michigan library for inclusion in Google's search database.

pdf googlebooks-lib-assn-supp-filing-02aug09.pdf

 
 

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

 
 

Testimony of James G. Neal, Concerning Promotion of Distance Education Through Digital Technologies (Jan. 26, 1999)

Testimony on distance education given on behalf of the Association of American Universities, the American Council on Education, and the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges.

pdf neal-testimony-distance-ed-26jan99.pdf

 
   
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