EFFector       Vol. 11, No. 14       Sep. 29, 1998
                              [email protected]
  A Publication of the Electronic Frontier Foundation     ISSN 1062-9424

 IN THE 142nd ISSUE OF EFFECTOR:

    * ALERT: The Digital Millennium Copyright Act is going to conference -
      speak now or forever hold your peace! (Oct. 2 deadline!)
         + INTRODUCTION
         + IMMEDIATE ACTION TO TAKE
         + ABOUT DFC
    * Administrivia

  See http://www.eff.org for more information on EFF activities &
  alerts!
    _________________________________________________________________



  September 28, 1998                                       EFF/DFC ALERT

      The Digital Millennium Copyright Act is going to conference

                 Speak now or forever hold your peace!

  Tentative Deadline: Oct. 2 (Please do not redistribute after Oct. 10.)


 INTRODUCTION

  On September 24, 1998, Congress held the first of several meetings, to
  reconcile the House and Senate versions of the "Digital Millennium
  Copyright Act" (DMCA). These meetings could be completed by the end of
  this week!

  The DMCA makes significant changes to American copyright law in the
  name of implementing recent World Intellectual Property Organization
  (WIPO) copyright treaties. Unfortunately, some of the proposed changes
  could upset the uniquely American balance between the users and
  creators of copyrighted works. The Senate bill lacks adequate
  protections for fair use, encryption research, and personal privacy.
  It could also limit the availability of future consumer electronics
  and computer products. On the other hand, the House version contains
  many extraneous provisions that have little or nothing to do with
  implementing the important WIPO treaties. These provisions in the
  House bill would overturn three consumer-oriented Supreme Court
  decisions. The Justice department has concluded that one of these
  provisions, Title V, which creates sweeping new anti-fair-use rights
  in databases and other collections of information, may well be
  unconstitutional. (This Title V was previously a separate bill, the
  "Collections of Information Antipiracy Act.") Now is the time to speak
  up because these meetings will determine the final form of this
  legislation as it goes to the President's desk to be signed into law.

  If you care about the future of the Internet, you should let your
  Senators and Representatives know, as soon as possible, how important
  it is to preserve the essential provisions of the House DMCA, which
  protects fair use, personal privacy, the availability of consumer
  products and encryption research - while rejecting its harmful
  extraneous provisions. A letter to the Senate detailing public
  interest concerns with both pieces of legislation is available at the
  Digital Future Coalition web site:
  http://www.dfc.org
                   ___________________________________



 IMMEDIATE ACTION TO TAKE

   First Step:

  All privacy, encryption, fair use, and security supporters, especially
  supporters from states represented on the Conference Committee, are
  asked to IMMEDIATELY fax, call or e-mail your Senators and
  Representatives now and ask them to contact the members of the
  "Digital Millennium Copyright Act" Conference Committee and urge them
  to keep the protections for information consumers embodied in the core
  of the House version of the DMCA and to remove provisions such as
  Title V, the "Collections of Information Antipiracy Act", which have
  no relation to WIPO implementation. A sample letter and more
  information is available at the Digital Future Coalition web site:
  http://www.dfc.org

  To reach your legislator you may call the US Capitol Switchboard at
  202-224-3121 locally or toll-free 1-800-962-3524 nationally. If you
  are unsure who your legislators are or want more info on how to
  contact them, see the EFF Congress Contact Factsheet at:
  http://www.eff.org/congress.html

   Second Step:

  Next contact the key Conference Committee legislators below and urge
  them to:
   1. replace the Senate's "Digital Millenium Copyright Act" provisions
      with the better provisions of the House version; and
   2. remove Title V, the "Collections of Information Antipiracy Act".

  The following Representatives and Senators are on the "Digital
  Millennium Copyright Act" Conference Committee:

================================================================
Party        Senator                 Phone           Fax
  State
----------------------------------------------------------------
 R UT     Hatch, Orrin G.        1-202-224-5251  1-202-224-6331
 D VT     Leahy, Patrick J.      1-202-224-4242  1-202-224-3595
 R SC     Thurmond, Strom        1-202-224-5972  1-202-224-1300
================================================================
Pty  Dist   Representative          Phone           Fax
  State
----------------------------------------------------------------
 R IL 06  Hyde, Henry            1-202-225-4561  1-202-225-1166
 R NC 06  Coble, Howard          1-202-225-3065  1-202-225-8611
 R VA 06  Goodlatte, Bob         1-202-225-5431  1-202-225-9681
 D CA 26  Berman, Howard         1-202-225-4695  1-202-225-5279
 D MI 14  Conyers, John          1-202-225-5126  1-202-225-0072
 D MI 16  John D. Dingell        1-202-225-4071  1-202-226-0371
 R VA 07  Tom Bliley             1-202-225-2815  1-202-225-0011
 R LA 03  W.J. "Billy" Tauzin    1-202-225-4031  1-202-225-0563
================================================================

  IF YOU ARE A CONSTITUENT (i.e., you live in the same district as the
  Rep. you are contacting) make sure to say so. For example "I am a
  constituent, and I'm calling/writing because...."

  IF YOU REPRESENT A COMPANY OR ORGANIZATION, say so: "I'm Jane Person
  from Personal Technologies Inc. of Austin. I'm calling on behalf of
  Personal Technologies to ask the Representative to...." Business
  interests carry a lot of weight with many legislators, especially if
  they are in the legislator's home district. Legislators also generally
  heed organizational voices over individual ones.
                   ___________________________________



 ABOUT DFC

  The Digital Future Coalition (DFC), of which EFF is a member, is 42
  non-profit and for-profit entities that are committed to fighting for
  balanced intellectual property law (copyright) in the digital era.

  This alert is based on a DFC alert.

    _________________________________________________________________

                                Administrivia

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