Washington, D.C.
October 18-20, 1995

Building Partnerships that Shape the Future

Luncheon Session: NII & Intellectual Property

Convened by James Neal, Director
Johns Hopkins University Library

The topic of this luncheon is the National Information Infrastructure (NII) and Intellectual Property. The proposals in the administration’s White Paper, the report from their Working Group on Intellectual Property Initiatives, are on a very fast track, and we need to get them under control.

The two individuals who have agreed to assist us with this debate and conversation this afternoon are Peter Jaszi and Arnie Lutzker. Just about a week ago, Peter wrote the following: “The NII working group describes the recommendations as no more than, quote, ‘a minor clarification and limited amendment of the current law.’ However, we are concerned that these legislative proposals taken together with the White Paper’s controversial interpretation of how current law applies to the digital information environment actually may bring about very significant changes in the carefully crafted balance of competing interests which today’s copyright law reflects.”

Allow me to introduce our two speakers. First, we will hear from Peter Jaszi. He is a professor at the Washington College of Law at the American University. He is a graduate of Harvard Law School and a very experienced litigator in the field of copyright. He frequently lectures to professional groups in the United States and abroad and serves as a trustee of the Copyright Society of the United States.

Peter will examine the changing balance of rights in the White Paper’s policies on both the national and international levels. He will also review the challenges we are facing in the current copyright and intellectual property arenas.

Our second guest is Arnie Lutzker. He is counsel for the Shared Legal Capability representing the major library associations: MLA, SLA, ALA, ARL, and AALL. He is a partner in the law firm of Fish & Richardson, where he practices copyright, trademark, unfair competition, and entertainment law. He also is a graduate of Harvard Law School.

Arnie’s presentation focuses on the White Paper and its implications for the higher education and the library communities, as well as the strategic responses undertaken by ARL and others in these communities. [Attached are the overheads from his presentation.]

Please help me welcome both of our speakers.