So Congress is currently considering a "database protection act" that
would extend copyright law governing databases of facts under a number of
circumstances.
As of right now, compilations of facts in databases is NOT copyrightable.
The current proposed law, even with it's exemptions would have a broad
range of chilling effects, including:
- making unavailble geographic data services (such as city street
information) except to mega coporations
- hobbyist collection and transmision of sports or stock market
statistics
- hampering the ability of NGO's, political parties, and other
non-profit organizations from use and publishing of factual databases
(such a list of congressional fax numbers).
- search engine caching (ala google)
If you have any other examples, please feel free to toss on the list.
Please take the few minutes to send a fax-via-web to your congress critter
at the urls below....
Please forward far and wide!!!!
--------------------------
TAKE ACTION =>
http://www.publicknowledge.org/take-action/PublicAction.2004-01-29.5078945128/
Keeping an eye on Washington for you,
The Public Knowledge Staff
http://www.publicknowledge.org