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FYI<br>
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-------- Original Message --------
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<th align="right" nowrap="nowrap" valign="baseline">Subject: </th>
<td>[alacoun] Letter to Congress that ALA Signed Onto</td>
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<th align="right" nowrap="nowrap" valign="baseline">Date: </th>
<td>Thu, 11 Sep 2008 17:08:39 -0400</td>
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<th align="right" nowrap="nowrap" valign="baseline">From: </th>
<td>Emily Sheketoff <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:esheketoff@alawash.org"><esheketoff@alawash.org></a></td>
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<th align="right" nowrap="nowrap" valign="baseline">To: </th>
<td>ALA Council <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:alacoun@ala.org"><alacoun@ala.org></a></td>
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<th align="right" nowrap="nowrap" valign="baseline">CC: </th>
<td><a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:alacol2@ala.org"><alacol2@ala.org></a></td>
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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style=""><u><font
size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Re: Concerns Regarding S. 3325,
the Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Act of 2008<o:p></o:p></font></font></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style=""><u><font
size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style=""><u><font
size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></u></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font
face="Times New Roman" size="3">Dear Senator <span style="">«Lastname»</span>:</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font size="3"><font
face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font
face="Times New Roman" size="3">The undersigned groups write to
express our concerns with S. 3325, the Enforcement of Intellectual
Property Rights Act of 2008, soon to be marked up in the Committee on
the Judiciary. While enforcing IP rights is necessary to ensuring the
progress of science and the useful arts, an unbalanced approach to
enforcement would lead to unintended harms and impede that progress.
Several of the provisions contained within S. 3325 threaten such an
imbalance.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style=""><font
size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style=""><font
size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style=""><font
face="Times New Roman" size="3">Civil Enforcement by DOJ</font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font size="3"><font
face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font
face="Times New Roman" size="3">Section 101 of the bill allows the
Attorney General to bring a civil suit against alleged copyright
infringers in lieu of a criminal action. Granting the Attorney General
this authority is unwarranted. The Attorney General currently possesses
the power to bring criminal actions against the worst infringers, while
civil remedies are already fully and freely available to copyright
holders. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font size="3"><font
face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><a
moz-do-not-send="true" name="_DV_C7"><font size="3"><font
face="Times New Roman">Section 101 would be an enormous gift of
federal resources to large copyright owners with no demonstration that
the copyright owners are having difficulties enforcing their own
rights. For example, the recording industry has threatened or filed
over 30,000 lawsuits against individual consumers. Movie and television
producers, software publishers, music publishers, and print publishers
all have their own enforcement programs.<span style=""> </span></font></font></a><font
face="Times New Roman" size="3">There is absolutely no reason for the
federal government to assume this private enforcement role.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font size="3"><font
face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font
face="Times New Roman" size="3">Moreover, in a civil action brought by
the government, the defendant loses many of the protections he
possesses in a criminal action.<span style=""> </span>The
government’s burden of proof is lower – preponderance of evidence
rather than beyond reasonable doubt. Additionally, the defendant is not
eligible for free legal representation if necessary. Nor does the bill
adequately balance this shift against the accused. The proposed offset
for civil damages is limited to certain cases, and the bill also
explicitly permits the United States and private parties to exact
further civil or criminal penalties in addition to those imposed by the
Attorney General's civil suit.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font size="3"><font
face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><a
moz-do-not-send="true" name="_DV_C15"><font face="Times New Roman"
size="3">Given its potential harms, section 101's inclusion should be
reconsidered. At the very least, substantial examination is needed to
assess its unintended, adverse</font></a><a moz-do-not-send="true"
name="_DV_M10"></a><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> consequences.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style=""><font
size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style=""><font
size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style=""><font
size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Forfeiture Provisions<o:p></o:p></font></font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font size="3"><font
face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font
face="Times New Roman" size="3">Title III of S. 3325 expands both the
civil and criminal forfeiture provisions of several areas of IP and
related law. Unlike similar provisions in H.R. 4279, the civil
forfeiture provisions here do not require that the seized property be
owned or predominantly controlled by the infringer. Given the
distributed nature of online content and Internet communications, this
provision subjects the property of unaffiliated, noninfringing third
parties, such as online service providers, to forfeiture. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font size="3"><font
face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font
face="Times New Roman" size="3">At least two major questions are left
unanswered by these provisions. First, to what extent is the
information on seized devices reached by the forfeiture? For instance,
if an information storage device such as a server is forfeited, is the
proprietary content (including copyrighted content) on that server
similarly forfeit? Virtual bystanders storing copyrighted material on
the same server as an infringer should not have their intellectual
property seized by the government due to the operation of a pro-IP law.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font size="3"><font
face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font
face="Times New Roman" size="3">Second, what rights are implicated by
accessing the information stored on seized devices? If an information
storage device such as a server is forfeited, does the government
require a search warrant to review the contents of the server? If not,
then forfeiture and impoundment could be used as a mechanism to
circumvent the warrant requirement. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font size="3"><font
face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font
face="Times New Roman" size="3">Furthermore, S. 3325 authorizes
forfeiture for the circumvention of technological protection measures.
This provision only serves to heighten the ongoing controversy over
anti-circumvention provisions—which currently may penalize users who
are circumventing protection measures to make fair or other lawful uses
of copyrighted works. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font size="3"><font
face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font size="3"><font
face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style=""><font
size="3"><font face="Times New Roman">Impounding of Records<o:p></o:p></font></font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style=""><font
size="3"><font face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font
face="Times New Roman" size="3">Section 202 of the bill allows the
impounding of business records associated with an alleged infringement
pending trial. By allowing the impoundment of the actual records soon
after the filing of a complaint, this amendment deprives the defendant
the ability to carry on its business before a decision of the merits of
the complaint—before any injunction is issued or any discovery
undertaken. Moreover, without the records, the defendant might not be
able adequately to prepare a defense.<span style=""> </span>S. 3325
is worse than the parallel provision in H.R. 4279 because the Senate
bill makes a protective order for these records discretionary, while
the House bill makes the protective order mandatory</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font size="3"><font
face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font
face="Times New Roman" size="3">The expeditious procedures currently
in 17 U.S.C. § 503 may be necessary to prevent potentially infringing
materials from entering the market. However, expanding the section's
scope to include records does nothing to further that goal, while
circumventing established discovery procedures.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font size="3"><font
face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font
face="Times New Roman" size="3">We look forward to working with the
Committee to address our concerns with S. 3325.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font size="3"><font
face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font size="3"><font
face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font
face="Times New Roman" size="3">Respectfully submitted,</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font size="3"><font
face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font
face="Times New Roman" size="3">American Association of Law Libraries</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font
face="Times New Roman" size="3">American Library Association</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font
face="Times New Roman" size="3">Consumer Federation of America</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font
face="Times New Roman" size="3">Consumers Union</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font
face="Times New Roman" size="3">Digital Future Coalition</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font
face="Times New Roman" size="3">Electronic Frontier Foundation</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font
face="Times New Roman" size="3">Essential Action</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font
face="Times New Roman" size="3">IP Justice</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font
face="Times New Roman" size="3">Knowledge Ecology International</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font
face="Times New Roman" size="3">Medical Library Association</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font
face="Times New Roman" size="3">Public Knowledge</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font
face="Times New Roman" size="3">Special Libraries Association</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font size="3"><font
face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font
face="Times New Roman" size="3">cc: Members of the Senate Committee on
the Judiciary</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><font size="3"><font
face="Times New Roman"> <o:p></o:p></font></font></p>
</font></div>
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src="cid:part1.08010609.03000307@pdx.edu" align="left" height="35"
width="165"><br>
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<p
style="font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Suzanne
L. Sager<br>
Library East, Cataloging<br>
Portland State University<br>
<br>
503-725-8169<br>
503-725-5799<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:sagers@pdx.edu">sagers@pdx.edu</a></p>
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