[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 153 (Thursday, September 28, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S14550-S14553]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. HATCH (for himself and Mr. Leahy):
  S. 1284. A bill to amend title 17 to adapt the copyright to the 
digital, networked environment of the National Information 
Infrastructure, and for other purposes; to the Committee on the 
Judiciary.


    the national information infrastructure copyright protection act

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, today, together with my distinguished 
colleague from Vermont, Senator Leahy, I am introducing the National 
Information Infrastructure Copyright Protection Act of 1995, which 
amends the Copyright Act to bring it up to date with the digital 
communications age.
  The National Information Infrastructure or ``NII'' is a fancy name 
for what is popularly known as the ``information highway.'' Probably 
most people today experience the information highway by means of their 
computers when they use electronic mail or subscribe to a bulletin 
board service or use other on-line services. But these existing 
services are only dirt roads compared to the superhighway of 
information-sharing which lies ahead.
  The NII of the future will link not only computers, but also 
telephones, televisions, radios, fax machines, and more into an 
advanced, high-speed, interactive, broadband, digital communications 
system. Over this information superhighway, data, text, voice, sound, 
and images will travel, and their digital format will permit them not 
only to be viewed or heard, but also to be copied and manipulated. The 
digital format will also ensure that copies will be perfect 
reproductions, without the degradation that normally occurs today when 
audio and videotapes are copied.
  The NII has tremendous potential to improve and enhance our lives, by 
providing quick, economical, and high-quality access to information 
that educates and entertains as well as informs. When linked up to a 
``Global Information Infrastructure,'' the NII will broaden our 
cultural experiences, and allow American products to be more widely 
disseminated.
  Highways, of course, are meant to be used, and in order to be used, 
they must be safe. That's why we have ``rules of the road'' on our 
asphalt highways and that's why we need rules for our digital highway. 
No manufacturer would ship his or her goods on a highway if his trucks 
were routinely hijacked and his or her goods plundered. Likewise, no 
producer of intellectual property will place his or her works on the 
information superhighway if they are routinely pirated. We might end up 
having enormous access to very little information, unless we can 
protect property rights in intellectual works. The piracy problem is 
particularly acute in the digital age where perfect copies can be made 
quickly and cheaply.
  Protecting the property rights of the owners of intellectual property 
not only induces them to make their products available, it also 
encourages the creation of new products. Our copyright laws are based 
on the conviction that creativity increases when authors can reap 
benefits of their creative activity.
  But the NII also promises to increase creativity in a more dramatic 
way by providing individual creators with public distribution of their 
works outside traditional channels. For example, authors who have been 
unsuccessful in finding a publisher will be able to distribute their 
works themselves to great numbers of people at very low cost.
  The bill that I am introducing today begins the process of designing 
the rules of the road for the information superhighway. It was drafted 
by the Working Group on Intellectual Property Rights of the Information 
Infrastructure Task Force. Chaired by the Honorable Bruce A Lehman, 
Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Commissioner of Patents and 
Trademarks, the Working Group labored for 2 years examining the 
intellectual property implications of the NII to determine if changes 
were necessary to intellectual property law and to recommend 
appropriate statutory language.
  The Working Group drew upon the expertise of 26 departments and 
agencies of the Federal Government; it heard the testimony of 30 
witnesses and received some 70 written statements from all interested 
parties. On July 7, 1994, it produced a preliminary draft (``Green 
Paper''), which opened another period of extensive testimony and 
comment. The Final Report, containing a draft of the legislation that I 
am introducing today, was unveiled on September 5, 1995.
  The length and scope of the Working Group's investigation would alone 
commend its recommendations to serious attention, but I have also 
studied the legislation and find it an excellent basis for the 
Committee on the Judiciary to begin its own examination of the issues 
with a view to fine-tuning the solutions proposed by the Working Group.
  The bill deals with five major areas:
  (1) transmission of copies,
  (2) exemptions for libraries and the visually impaired,
  (3) copyright protection systems,
  (4) copyright management information, and
  (5) remedies.
  In general, the bill provides as follows:
  Transmission of Copies. The bill makes clear that the right of public 
distribution in the Copyright Act applies to transmission of copies and 
phonorecords of copyrighted works. For example, this means that 
transmitting a copy of a computer program from one computer to ten 
other computers without permission of the copyright owner would 
ordinarily be an infringement.

  Exemptions for Libraries and the Visually Impaired. The bill amends 
the current exemption for libraries to allow the preparation of three 
copies of works in digital format, and it authorizes the making of a 
limited number of digital copies by libraries and archives for purposes 
of preservation.
  The bill adds a new exemption for non-profit organizations to 
reproduce and distribute to the visually impaired--at cost--Braille, 
large type, audio or other editions of previously published literary 
works, provided that the owner of the exclusive right to distribute the 
work in the United States has not entered the market for such editions 
during the first year following first publication.
  Copyright Protection Systems. The bill adds a new section which 
prohibits the importation, manufacture or distribution of any device or 
product, or the provision of any service, the primary purpose or effect 
of which is to deactivate any technological protections which prevent 
or inhibit the violation of exclusive rights under the copyright law.
  Copyright Management Information. ``Copyright management 
information'' is information that identifies the author of the work, 
the copyright owner, the terms and conditions for uses of the work, and 
other information that the Register of Copyrights may prescribe. The 
bill prohibits the dissemination of copyright management information 
known to be false and the unauthorized removal or alteration of 
copyright management information.
  Remedies. The bill provides for civil penalties for circumvention of 
copyright protection systems and for tampering with copyright 
management information, including injunction, impoundment, actual or 
statutory damages, costs, attorney's fees, and the modification or 
destruction of products and devices.
  The bill provides criminal penalties for tampering with copyright 
management information--a fine of not more than $500,000 or 
imprisonment of not more than 5 years or both.
  There is widespread support for the general thrust of the bill among 
interested parties. However, during the hearing process, I am sure that 
issues will arise that no one has yet anticipated. Already, some 
potential discussion points have been identified: the scope of the 
library exemption and the exemption for the visually impaired, the 
absence of criminal penalties for circumvention of copyright protection 
systems, the use of encryption as a copyright protection system, the 
application of the doctrine of fair use, the development of efficient 
licensing models, and the liability of on-line service providers.
  In the interest of time, it may be that fuller discussion and 
solution may 

[[Page S 14551]]
have to be deferred for those points not covered expressly in the bill. 
The fully commercial information superhighway is not yet here, and we 
must resign ourselves to a period of experimentation. We want to be on 
the cutting edge, not the bleeding edge of new technology.
  Once again, I would like to commend the Working Group on Intellectual 
Property Rights of the Information Infrastructure Task Force for 
providing an excellent model for us to work with. I also recommend to 
all interested parties that they read the full report of the Working 
Group. Without endorsing any of the specific language of that report, I 
believe that it provides useful background material for the recommended 
changes.
  In conclusion, Mr. President, I would like to thank my colleague from 
Vermont, Senator Leahy, for joining me in introducing this important 
legislation.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a copy of this bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 1284

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``NII Copyright Protection Act 
     of 1995''.

     SEC. 2. TRANSMISSION OF COPIES.

       (a) Distribution.--Section 106(3) of title 17, United 
     States Code, is amended by striking ``or by rental, lease, or 
     lending'' and inserting ``by rental, lease, or lending, or by 
     transmission''.
       (b) Definitions.--Section 101 of title 17, United States 
     Code, is amended--
       (1) in the definition of ``publication'' by striking ``or 
     by rental, lease, or lending'' in the first sentence and 
     insert ``by rental, lease, or lending, or by transmission''; 
     and
       (2) in the definition of ``transmit'' by inserting at the 
     end thereof the following: ``To `transmit' a reproduction is 
     to distribute it by any device or process whereby a copy or 
     phonorecord of the work is fixed beyond the place from which 
     it was sent.''.
       (c) Importation.--Section 602 of title 17, United States 
     Code, is amended by inserting ``whether by carriage of 
     tangible goods or by transmission,'' after ``Importation into 
     the United States,''.

     SEC. 3. EXEMPTIONS FOR LIBRARIES AND THE VISUALLY IMPAIRED.

       (a) Libraries.--Section 108 of title 17, United States 
     Code, is amended--
       (1) in subsection (a) by deleting ``one copy or 
     phonorecord'' and inserting in lieu thereof ``three copies or 
     phonorecords'';
       (2) in subsection (a) by deleting ``such copy or 
     phonorecord'' and inserting in lieu thereof ``no more than 
     one of such copies or phonorecords'';
       (3) by inserting at the end of subsection (a)(3) ``if such 
     notice appears on the copy or phonorecord that is reproduced 
     under the provisions of this section'';
       (4) in subsection (b) by inserting ``or digital'' after 
     ``facsimile'' and by inserting ``in facsimile form'' before 
     ``for deposit for research use''; and
       (5) in subsection (c) by inserting ``or digital'' after 
     ``facsimile''.
       (b) Visually Impaired.--Title 17, United States Code, is 
     amended by adding the following new section:

     ``Sec. 108A. Limitations on exclusive rights: Reproduction 
       for the Visually Impaired

       ``Notwithstanding the provision of section 106, it is not 
     an infringement of copyright for a non-profit organization to 
     reproduce and distribute to the visually impaired, at cost, a 
     Braille, large type, audio or other edition of a previously 
     published literary work in a form intended to be perceived by 
     the visually impaired, provided that, during a period of at 
     least one year after the first publication of a standard 
     edition of such work in the United States, the owner of the 
     exclusive right to distribute such work in the United States 
     has not entered the market for editions intended to be 
     perceived by the visually impaired.''

     SEC. 4. COPYRIGHT PROTECTION SYSTEMS AND COPYRIGHT MANAGEMENT 
                   INFORMATION.

       Title 17, United States Code, is amended by adding the 
     following new chapter:

       ``CHAPTER 12.--COPYRIGHT PROTECTION AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

``Sec.
``1201. Circumvention of Copyright Protection Systems
``1202. Integrity of Copyright Management Information
``1203. Civil Remedies
``1204. Criminal Offenses and Penalties

     Sec. 1201. Circumvention of Copyright Protection Systems

       ``No person shall import, manufacture or distribute any 
     device, product, or component incorporated into a device or 
     product, or offer or perform any service, the primary purpose 
     or effect of which is to avoid, bypass, remove, deactivate, 
     or otherwise circumvent, without the authority of the 
     copyright owner or the law, any process, treatment, mechanism 
     or system which prevents or inhibits the violation of any of 
     the exclusive rights of the copyright owner under section 
     106.

     Sec. 1202. Integrity of Copyright Management Information

       ``(a) False Copyright Management Information.--No person 
     shall knowingly provide copyright management information that 
     is false, or knowingly publicly distribute or import for 
     public distribution copyright management information that is 
     false.
       ``(b) Removal or Alteration of Copyright Management 
     Information.--No person shall, without authority of the 
     copyright owner or the law, (i) knowingly remove or alter any 
     copyright management information, (ii) knowingly distribute 
     or import for distribution copyright management information 
     that has been altered without authority of the copyright 
     owner or the law, or (iii) knowingly distribute or import for 
     distribution copies or phonorecords from which copyright 
     management information has been removed without authority of 
     the copyright owner or the law.
       ``(c) Definition.--As used in this chapter, ``copyright 
     management information'' means the name and other identifying 
     information of the author of a work, the name and other 
     identifying information of the copyright owner, terms and 
     conditions for uses of the work, and such other information 
     as the Register of Copyrights may prescribe by regulation.

     Sec. 1203. Civil Remedies

       ``(a) Civil Actions.--Any person injured by a violation of 
     Sec. 1201 or 1202 may bring a civil action in an appropriate 
     United States district court for such violation.
       ``(b) Powers of the Court.--In an action brought under 
     subsection (a), the court--
       ``(1) may grant temporary and permanent injunctions on such 
     terms as it deems reasonable to prevent or restrain a 
     violation;
       ``(2) at any time while an action is pending, may order the 
     impounding, on such terms as it deems reasonable, of any 
     device or product that is in the custody or control of the 
     alleged violator and that the court has reasonable cause to 
     believe was involved in a violation;
       ``(3) may award damages under subsection (c);
       ``(4) in its discretion may allow the recovery of costs by 
     or against any party other than the United States or an 
     officer thereof;
       ``(5) in its discretion may award reasonable attorney's 
     fees to the prevailing party; and
       ``(6) may, as part of a final judgment or decree finding a 
     violation, order the remedial modification or the destruction 
     of any device or product involved in the violation that is in 
     the custody or control of the violator or has been impounded 
     under subsection (2).
       ``(c) Awards of Damages.--
       ``(1) In general.--Except as otherwise provided in this 
     chapter, a violator is liable for either (i) the actual 
     damages and any additional profits of the violator, as 
     provided by subsection (2) or (ii) statutory damages, as 
     provided by subsection (3).
       ``(2) Actual damages.--The court shall award to the 
     complaining party the actual damages suffered by him or her 
     as a result of the violation, and any profits of the violator 
     that are attributable to the violation and are not taken into 
     account in computing the actual damages, if the complaining 
     party elects such damages at any time before final judgment 
     is entered.
       ``(3) Statutory damages.--
       ``(A) At any time before final judgment is entered, a 
     complaining party may elect to recover an award of statutory 
     damages for each violation of section 1201 in the sum of not 
     less than $200 or more than $2,500 per device, product, offer 
     or performance of service, as the court considers just.
       ``(B) At any time before final judgment is entered, a 
     complaining party may elect to recover an award of statutory 
     damages for each violation of section 1202 in the sum of not 
     less than $2,500 or more than $25,000.
       ``(4) Repeated violations.--In any case in which the 
     injured party sustains the burden of proving, and the court 
     finds, that a person has violated section 1201 or 1202 within 
     three years after a final judgment was entered against that 
     person for another such violation, the court may increase the 
     award of damages up to triple the amount that would otherwise 
     be awarded, as the court considers just.
       ``(5) Innocent violations.--The court in its discretion may 
     reduce or remit altogether the total award of damages in any 
     case in which the violator sustains the burden of proving, 
     and the court finds, that the violator was not aware and had 
     no reason to believe that its acts constituted a violation.

     Sec. 1204. Criminal Offenses and Penalties

       ``Any person who violates section 1202 with intent to 
     defraud shall be fined not more than $500,000 or imprisoned 
     for not more than 5 years, or both.''

     SEC. 5. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.

       (a) Table of Sections.--The table of sections for chapter 1 
     of title 17, United States Code, is amended by inserting 
     after the item relating to section 108 the following:

``108A. Limitations on exclusive rights: Reproduction for the Visually 
              Impaired.''

       (b) Table of Chapters.--The table of chapters for title 17, 
     United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
     following:

``12. COPYRIGHT PROTECTION AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS...............1201''.

[[Page S 14552]]


     SEC. 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.

       This Act, and the amendments made by this Act, shall take 
     effect on the date of the enactment of this Act.

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I join today in the introduction of the 
``NII Copyright Protection Act.'' This bill reflects the effort of the 
Working Group on Intellectual Property Rights, chaired by Assistant 
Secretary of Commerce and Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks Bruce 
A. Lehman. The Working Group included key Federal agencies in 
consultation with the private sector, public interest groups and State 
and local governments. Its examination of the intellectual property 
implications of the National Information Infrastructure forms a 
critical component of the Information Infrastructure Task Force, 
created in early 1993 by President Clinton and Vice President Gore.
  This legislative proposal confronts fundamental questions about the 
role of copyright in the next century. On July 7, 1995, the Working 
Group released its preliminary draft report. Following additional 
hearings, public comment and consultation, the Administration released 
its long-awaited ``White Paper,'' or final report, on copyright 
protection in the digital, electronic information age on September 5, 
1995. This 238-page report, ``Intellectual Property and the National 
Information Infrastructure,'' culminates in legislative recommendations 
that are incorporated in this bill. This bill takes important steps 
toward answering questions about the structure of copyright protection 
for decades to come.
  Increasing the accessibility to computer networks is of vital 
importance to our Nation's continued economic health and growth. 
Computers have already been integrated into virtually everything we do 
from getting cash at bank ATMs, paying for our groceries at the local 
market, and sending e-mail messages to friends, to making a simple 
telephone call that is directed by the telephone companies' computers.
  Our dependence on computers only grows. Businesses both large and 
small depend on computers to communicate, manage and improve their 
delivery of goods and services. In fact, small businesses can use 
computers successfully to keep up with their bigger competitors.
  We have to make sure that all of us feel as comfortable with using 
computers as we did, in my youth, using a typewriter. We have to make 
sure that we appreciate all the advantages that networked communities, 
such as the Internet, have to offer. Computer networks will 
increasingly become the means of transmitting copyrighted works in the 
years ahead. This presents great opportunities but also poses 
significant risks to authors and our copyright industries.
  I believe that we can legislate in ways that promote the use of the 
Internet, both by content providers and users. We must and will update 
our copyright laws to protect the intellectual property rights of 
creative works available online. The future growth of computer networks 
like the Internet and of digital, electronic communications requires 
it. Otherwise, owners of intellectual property will be unwilling to put 
their material online. If there is no content worth reading online, the 
growth of this medium will be stifled, and public accessibility will be 
retarded.
  The Report of the Working Group on Intellectual Property Rights put 
it this way:

       Thus, the full potential of the NII will not be realized if 
     the education, information and entertainment products 
     protected by intellectual property laws are not protected 
     effectively when disseminated via the NII. Creators and other 
     owners of intellectual property will not be willing to put 
     their interests at risk if appropriate systems--both in the 
     U.S. and internationally--are not in place to permit them to 
     set and enforce the terms and conditions under which their 
     works are made available in the NII environment. Likewise, 
     the public will not use the services available on the NII and 
     generate the market necessary for its success unless a wide 
     variety of works are available under equitable and reasonable 
     terms and conditions, and the integrity of those works is 
     assured. All the computers, telephones, fax machines, 
     scanners, cameras, keyboards, televisions, monitors, 
     printers, switches, routers, wires, cables, networks, and 
     satellites in the world will not create a successful NII, if 
     there is no content. What will drive the NII is the content 
     moving through it.

  The emergence of the computer networks forming the backbone of the 
National Information Infrastructure in this country and the Global 
Information Infrastructure worldwide hold enormous promise. They also 
present an enormous challenge to those of us in government and in the 
private sector to make sure it is accessible and affordable to all.
  I support a balanced approach to digital communications and have 
already proposed a series of other bills to foster the continued growth 
of electronic communications while encouraging creativity. Together 
with this NII Copyright Protection Act, they will go a long way toward 
creating an environment for growth of digital networks.
  When we consider information providers we cannot leave out the 
Federal Government. Government databases hold vast amounts of 
information that is not restricted by copyright and is legally required 
by the Freedom of Information Act to be available to the public, who 
paid for its collection. Earlier this year I introduced, along with 
Senators Hank Brown and John Kerry, the ``Electronic Freedom of 
Information Improvement Act of 1995,'' S.1090, to require federal 
agencies to make more information available in electronic form and 
online so that it can be readily accessible to students and scholars 
doing research, companies who need the data for business purposes or 
simply curious members of the public.
  Government ought to be using technology to make itself more 
accountable and government information more accessible to the public. 
Individual federal agencies are already contributing to the development 
of the much heralded National Information Infrastructure by using 
technology to make Government information more easily accessible to our 
citizens. For example, the Internet Multicasting Service [IMS] now 
posts massive government data archives, including the Securities and 
Exchange Commission EDGAR database and the U.S. Patent and Trademark 
Office database on the Internet free of charge. Similarly, FedWorld, a 
bulletin board available on the Internet, provides a gateway to more 
than 60 Federal agencies.
  The Electronic Freedom of Information Improvement Act would 
contribute to that information flow by increasing online access to 
Government information, including agency regulations, opinions, and 
policy statements, and FOIA-released records that are the subject of 
repeated requests. This bill passed the Senate in the last Congress and 
I hope to see it through both Houses of this Congress.
  Our increasing reliance on networked computers for business and 
socializing also makes us more vulnerable to hackers and computer 
criminals. Anyone who has had to deal with the aftermath of a computer 
virus knows what havoc can be. Having previously been active in 
legislation to prevent computer crime and abuse, I have this year 
introduced the National Information Infrastructure Protection Act, 
S.982, with Senators Kyl and Grassley to increase protection for both 
government and private computers, and the information on those 
computers, from the growing threat of computer crime. This bill would 
increase protection against computer thieves, hackers and blackmailers 
and protecting computer systems used in interstate and foreign commerce 
and communications from destructive activity. It also serves to 
increase personal privacy, a matter on which I feel most strongly.
  Finally, I note my recent introduction with Senator Feingold of the 
Criminal Copyright Improvement Act of 1995, S.1122. This bill is 
designed to close a significant loophole in our copyright law and 
encourage the continued growth of the NII by insuring better protection 
of the creative works available online.
  Under current law, a defendant's willful copyright infringement must 
be for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain to be 
the subject of criminal prosecution. As exemplified by the recent case 
of United States v. LaMacchia, this presents an enormous loophole in 
criminal liability for willful infringers who can use digital 
technology to make exact copies of copyrighted software or other 
digitally encoded works, and then use computer networks for quick, 
inexpensive and 

[[Page S 14553]]
mass distribution of pirated, infringing works.
  The Report of the Working Group recognizes that the LaMacchia case 
demonstrates that the current law is insufficient to prevent flagrant 
copyright violations in the NII context and generally supports the 
amendments to the copyright law and the criminal law (which sets out 
sanctions for criminal copyright violations) set forth in S.1122, 
introduced in the 104th Congress by Senators Leahy and Feingold 
following consultations with the Justice Department. This increasingly 
important problem must be solved and the Criminal Copyright Improvement 
Act, S.1122, is a necessary component of the legal changes we need to 
adapt to the emerging digital environment.
  Today I join in sponsoring a bill that will help update our copyright 
law to the emerging electronic and digital age by revising basic 
copyright law definitions to take electronic transmissions into 
account. Further it endorses the use of copyright protection systems so 
that we may take fullest advantage of the technological developments 
that can be used to protect copyright and provide incentives for 
creativity. The bill provides graduated civil and criminal remedies for 
the circumvention of copyright protection systems through the use of 
false copyright management information.
  Finally, it suggests certain limited exemptions for libraries and the 
visually impaired. In this bill and others we need carefully to 
construct the proper balance that will respect copyright, encourage and 
reward creativity and serve the needs of public access to works.
  I believe that technological developments, such as the development of 
the Internet and remote computer information databases, are leading to 
important advancements in accessibility and affordability of 
information and entertainment services. We see opportunities to break 
through barriers previously facing those living in rural settings and 
those with physical disabilities. Democratic values can be served by 
making more information and services available.
  The public interest requires the consideration and balancing of such 
interests. In the area of creative rights that balance has rested on 
encouraging creativity by ensuring rights that reward it while 
encouraging its public performance, distribution and display.
  The Constitution speaks in terms of promoting the progress of science 
and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors 
the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries. 
Technological developments and the emergence of the Global Information 
Infrastructure hold enormous promise and opportunity for creators, 
artists, copyright industries and the public. There are methods of 
distribution emerging that dramatically affect the role of copyright 
and the accessibility of art, literature, music, film and information 
to all Americans.
  I was pleased to work with Chairman Hatch, Senator Thurmond, Senator 
Feinstein, Senator Thompson and others earlier this year to craft a 
bill creating a performance right in sound recordings, a matter that 
had been a source of contention for more than 20 years. That bill, The 
Digital Performance Rights in Sound Recordings Act of 1995, S.227, 
deals with digital transmissions, has already passed the Senate and 
should soon be the law of the land.
  Senator Hatch and I have also previously joined to cosponsor the 
Anticounterfeiting Consumer Protection Act of 1995, S.1136, to add law 
enforcement tools against counterfeit goods and to protect the 
important intellectual property rights associated with trademarks. I 
anticipate prompt hearings on that important measure and its enactment 
this Congress.
  I look forward to working with Chairman Hatch, the Chairman of the 
Judiciary, and others to adapt our copyright laws to the needs of the 
NII and the global information society, as well. The amendment of our 
copyright laws is an important and essential effort, one that merits 
our time and attention. I hope and trust that we will soon begin 
hearings on this important measure so that we may be sure to understand 
its likely impact both domestically and internationally. We must 
carefully balance the authors' interest in protection along with the 
public's interest in the accessibility of information.
  Ours is a time of unprecedented challenge to copyright protection. 
Copyright has been the engine that has traditionally converted the 
energy of artistic creativity into publicly available arts and 
entertainment. Historically, Government's role has been to encourage 
creativity and innovation by protecting copyrights that create 
incentives for the dissemination to the public of new works and forms 
of expression. That is the tradition that I intend to continue in this 
bill, the NII Copyright Protection Act of 1995.

                          ____________________