ARCHIVED: AALL Government Relations Office: Testimony before LOC Copyright Office - Distance Education

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF LAW LIBRARIES
AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION
ASSOCIATION OF RESEARCH LIBRARIES
MEDICAL LIBRARY ASSOCIATION
SPECIAL LIBRARIES ASSOCIATION

MARCH 3, 1999

. . . As this country has developed and as new technologies have burst upon the scene, Congress has adjusted this nation's intellectual property laws to incorporate new subject matter and to redefine the balance between public and proprietary interests. Today, we live in an age of rapid technological change, growing internationalization of various aspects of law, and increasing importance of intellectual property in world trade. The congressional role may be more complicated, but its objectives remain essentially unchanged. Congress must engage in the delicate assessment of equities between the public interest and proprietary rights. . . .

Berne Convention Implementation Act, H.R. Rep. No. 609, 100 Cong., 2d Sess. 22 (1988).