AALL ACTION ALERT: AALL AMENDMENT TO H.R. 1858

This is a critical point on a critical subject. In H.R. 1858, the Consumer and Investor Access to Information Act of 1999 (the Commerce Committee's bill) the alternative tp H.R. 354, the Collections of Information Antipiracy Act of 1999, that has been reported favorably by the House Judiciary Committee). On July 29th, the House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Trade and Consumer Protection chaired by Rep. Billy Tauzin agreed to the Manager's Amendment to H.R. 1858. We were very pleased that Rep. Tauzin included as part of the Manager's Amendment an exclusion for primary legal materials -- cases, statutes, etc.

Carl Hartmann
<hartmann[_at_]carroll.com>

> Subject: AALL ACTION ALERT: AALL AMENDMENT TO H.R. 1858
>
> FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
> August 3, 1999
>
> CONTACT:
> Mary Alice Baish
> Associate Washington Affairs Representative
> E.B. Williams Law Library
> Georgetown University Law Center
> 111 G Street, N.W.
> Washington, DC 20001-1417
> Voice: 202.662.9200
> Fax: 202.662.9202
> E-mail: baish[_at_]law.georgetown.edu
> Internet: http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/aallwash/
>
> Dear AALL Members,
>
> There are currently two database protection bills before the 106th
> Congress, both in the House. AALL supports the approach taken in H.R.
> 1858, the Consumer and Investor Access to Information Act of 1999 that
> is the Commerce Committee's bill. We strongly oppose H.R. 354, the
> Collections of Information Antipiracy Act of 1999, that has been
> reported favorably by the House Judiciary Committee.
>
> On Thursday, July 29th, the House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee
> on Telecommunications, Trade and Consumer Protection chaired by
> Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-3rd-LA) agreed to the Manager's Amendment to
> H.R. 1858. We were very pleased that Rep. Tauzin included as part
> of the Manager's Amendment an exclusion for primary legal materials
> drafted by the Washington Affairs Office:
>
> Protection under this chapter shall not extend to primary legal
> materials, including court opinions, statutes, codes, regulations, or
> administrative agency decisions, from any Federal, state, or local
> jurisdiction, unless such materials were permanently available on an
> interactive computer network, without restriction, in an official,
> no-fee, publicly accessible electronic form at the time that the
> extraction occurred.
>
> The full Committee mark-up will likely be this Thursday, August 5th.
> It is critically important that members of AALL contact their
> Representatives by fax as soon as possible and urge their support for
> the language in our amendment.
>
> Sample letters are included in the Action Alert. Please fax, along with
> your letter, a copy of the AALL Issue Brief mentioned below.
>
> AALL Action Alert is at:
>
> http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/aallwash/aa080299.html
>
> AALL Issue Brief on Equal and Equitable Public Access to the Rule of Law
> is at:
>
> http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/aallwash/ib069901.html
>
> July 27, 1999 Letter to Rep. Tauzin and his Subcommittee:
>
> http://www.ll.georgetown.edu/aallwash/lt072799.html
>
> This is an extremely urgent and important issue, and we need your
> support. Letters from our Chapters would also be very much appreciated.
>
> Thank you very much, Mary Alice
>
> # # #
>
Received on Wed Aug 04 1999 - 13:07:39 GMT