Posted: Nov. 3, 1998
Peter W. Martin
As we discussed in our on-site meetings, we shall, during the time we have left before adjourning for the intersession, focus on the recently enacted amendments to the Copyright Act (Public Law 105-304) [Those who haven't already got a copy can download the Conference Report containing the legislation in the form enacted by clicking here.]
Here is the basic plan. Each of you should select a feature of the new law from the following list. It should be a point which interests you particularly.
I will set up a series of postings on Webboard. Register your choice of topic under the appropriate one. If you find upon going to Webboard that the topic you would have chosen has already acquired heavy coverage, I would urge you to pick another one so that the class as a whole can through this exercise gather a fairly comprehensive view of the new law.
Your immediate assignment is to prepare a short descriptive report on the point you have chosen, working from the language of the amendments, legislative history including importantly the Conference Committee report, and any other sources you find. The topic list in Webboard is intended for use in the sharing of such sources and discussion of the amendments, in addition to being a registry of topic choices.
By a descriptive report I mean you should focus on the apparent aim(s) and likely effects of the feature you have selected. What is its avowed or apparent target? What measures does it deploy? What concerns were expressed by opponents? What accommodations to them were included? Think of the task as explaining the implication of this legislation to a client who is involved in some way in the use of digital material and reasonably knowledgeable about the prior law.
Your report need not at this stage be submitted to me in writing. It should, however, be sufficient to allow you to provide a 2-3 minute explanation during one of our 2 CUSEEME sessions (Nov. 10 and 24). It should also serve as a foundation for a more critical personal statement on the legislation which will be due, in writing, when we reconvene in January. (That you will recall is to be 3 pages max.)
At both this stage and the one extending through the intersession, you can, if you wish, work with another member of the class -- with a proportionate adjustment of the scale of the report.
[In selecting a topic you should feel free to narrow it, by breaking out a particular feature of the amendment, or to combine it with other sections or subsections.]