Copyright may limit Internet (w/o encryption) [CNN]

[Jim Choate <ravage@EINSTEIN.ssz.com>]

Forwarded message:

> X-within-URL: http://www.cnn.com/TECH/computing/9809/28/copyright.fight.ap/

>    WASHINGTON (AP) -- When Lois Gibbs learned in 1978 that 20,000 tons of
>    toxic chemicals were buried under her Niagara Falls, N.Y.,
>    neighborhood, she tried to make sense of all the information and
>    scientific names suddenly thrown at her.
>    
>    She turned to her local library, wading through medical journals and
>    old newspaper articles to understand the chemicals and the diseases
>    they caused. Gibbs credits this immediate access to information with
>    helping her organize parents in Love Canal and spread the word about
>    toxic dumps.
>    
>    Now, thanks to the Internet, there's more information than ever
>    before. But educators and librarians fear that average citizens won't
>    be able to get at it because of proposed changes in copyright laws.
>    
>    Congress is trying to balance protecting the work of authors,
>    songwriters and others with making important information available to
>    students and other researchers.
>    
>    The House and Senate could agree this week on legislation that would
>    implement two copyright treaties adopted in 1996 by the U.N. World
>    Intellectual Property Organization.
>    
>    Current "fair use" laws allow personal use of copyrighted material
>    without obtaining advance permission. Students can quote from books in
>    their research papers and cable systems can relay television programs,
>    for example. The new version could lead to the encryption of some
>    material, keeping it out of the hands of anyone without a password or
>    other authorization.
>    
>    Hollywood and publishing industry officials say they are not trying to
>    keep information from the general public. But they want to protect the
>    work of their artists and writers from being downloaded and mass
>    distributed with a few keystrokes.
>    
>    "Everyone hopes that the Internet will become a great resource for
>    education, entertainment and commerce," said Allan Adler, vice
>    president for legal and governmental affairs at the Association of
>    American Publishers. "But one of the problems is that the medium
>    represents an extraordinary capability for flawless reproduction and
>    instantaneous distribution."

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