Chapter 9: Intellectual Property on the World Wide Web
9.5 NII Copyright Protection Act of 1995
9.5.1 Introduction
Laws are intended to be written with flexibility so that they can be adapted to changes in technology. This is not always possible, however, as we have seen occur with copyright law in general. The size and capabilities of the WWW could not have been anticipated in 1909 when the first copyright laws were set in place. Therefore, the revisions in the NII Copyright Protection Act are necessary changes that follow suit with similar actions taken in the past. Laws must encompass and address all issues that might arise, and thus we are given a new amendment for copyright law.
Senator Hatch and Representative Moorhead sponsored the bills S. 1288 and H.R. 2441, respectively, which are now the NII Copyright Protection Act of 1995. The act follows the proposed legislation from the Working Group fairly closely. There are three major revisions that are important to investigate for this chapter. These revisions are 1) Transmission of Copies; 2) Copyright Protection Systems; and 3) Copyright Management Information.
9.5.2 Major Revisions
First, the forms, or methods, of distribution originally included in copyright law were "by rental, lease or lending". The new act adds "transmission" as a form of distribution. Second, the act calls for a new section entitled "Copyright Protection Systems." This section makes it illegal for anyone, be it an individual or a company, to "import, manufacture, or distribute any device, product or component" that enhances the ability to violate copyrights technologically.
Copyright Management Information is part of the Protection Systems chapter. Copyright Management Information for the NII Act is the same as described in the White Paper. It contains information about the author, copyright owner and other pertinent information concerning a copyright. The act declares it illegal to remove or alter the information. It is also illegal to provide false information. The final section is about civil rights and how to take action against a copyright infringer and the types of damages that can be awarded.
9.5.4 Effects on the Web
For all practical purposes, users on the World Wide Web will not see any changes to the Web as a result of the NII Copyright Protection Act of 1995. For now, users do not need to worry about strict enforcement of copyright laws because of the difficulty of the actual enforcement. It is important, though, not to forget what is fair use of a document and what is not. Even though enforcement is difficult, users are not at liberty to do as they please simply because the law cannot catch them. Most likely, in a situation where someone has infringed on a copyright and the author knows this for a fact, the author may confront the copyright violator and notify them of their illegal actions. The author will probably ask for a correction of the problem rather than having a court of law fix the problem.
The copyright act is most likely, in this author's opinion, a prelude to more laws in the future. Copyright owners will push for more enforcement in the future leading to laws and methods that will protect works more strictly. As shown with the copyright evolution, it is virtual impossible to predict the future for copyright law. The law-makers attempt to pass legislation that will endure technological changes but inevitably fail. Because of this trend, it is only predictable that more changes will come.
References
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Copyright © 1996 Kelly R. Hanood
Kelly Hanood
<hanood@simon.cs.vt.edu>
27 October 1996