Copyright & Fair Use (fwd)

["Stephen E. Collins" <lm_net@SEC.MICRO.UMN.EDU>]

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  PRESS RELEASE - 7-26-96

  Stanford Libraries sponsor Copyright & Fair Use Web Site

  STANFORD--Stanford University Libraries & Academic
Information Resources, in collaboration with the Council on Library
Resources and FindLaw Internet Legal Resources, are sponsors of the
Copyright& Fair Use site on the World Wide Web

  (http://fairuse.stanford.edu/).

          The intention of the collaborators is to improve
  the extent and quality of the debate on copyright and
  particularly upon fair use by improving access to the laws,
  the documents of the relevant U.S. court cases, and related
  commentary.

  The site is unique because it assembles for the first time
in one location a wide range of materials related to this
controversial and hotly-debated issue:  the use of copyrighted
material by
  individuals, libraries and educational institutions.

Seemingly innocuous to those who have not tested its many
ramifications, the doctrine of fair use is seen by many as being
critically important to the educational and research framework of this
country. Others fear that with the advent of digital technologies the
fair use doctrine unchecked may lead to "unfair" uses of information.
The sponsors of this site urge that explicit statements about the
importance of fair use be made in any future copyright legislation or
revisions to current laws.

  FindLaw Internet Legal Resources (http://www.findlaw.com)
  provided much of the available site material, as well as
its organizational and navigational rationale.  Stanford
University Libraries' Academic Text Service provided technological
support by scanning the material and preparing it for mounting on the
Web.  The Council on Library Resources provided partial funding and
shares responsibility for oversight and maintenance.

  The Web site includes links that provide users with access
to an array of primary materials concerning fair use and
copyright (such as statutes, federal opinions, regulations, and treaty
texts) and to current legislation, legal cases, and issues.  Current
links also take users to basic copyright information; National
Information Infrastructure bills, testimonies and position papers;
specifics of the Michigan Document Service case; and library-specific
data, as well as a wealth of related information including an overview
of copyright law.

The site will continue to add more briefs
from previous cases, for example, the Texaco case.  Links are
added as the site expands.  The site itself is impartial; it seeks to
improve the quality of the fair use debate by providing a rich mix of
material to inform all users.

  All material on the site is full-text searchable;  the
range of material includes several cases relevant to the fair use
debate which are only to be found on the Web at this site.  For
example, briefs of the Michigan Document Services case are on-line at
the site.

  Site users who wish to send comments and suggestions can do
so by e-mail to copyright@findlaw.com.

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  Michael A. Keller
  University Librarian;
    Director of Academic Information Resources;
    Publisher, HighWire Press
  245 Green Library
  Stanford University
  Stanford, CA 94305-6004
  U.S.A.

  telephone: 1-415-723-5553
  fax: 1-415-725-4902
  e-mail: makeller@sulmail.stanford.edu
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