[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 11 (Thursday, February 12, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E165]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


        ON-LINE COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT LIABILITY LIMITATION ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BOB GOODLATTE

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 12, 1998

  Mr. GOODLATTE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to introduce, along with 
Representative Howard Coble (R-NC)--my good friend from North Carolina 
and Chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual 
Property--the ``On-Line Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation 
Act.'' I would like to thank Chairman Coble  for asking me to lead the 
negotiations between the various parties on this issue, and also for 
his support through this process.
  The issue of liability for on-line copyright infringement, especially 
where it involves third parties, is difficult and complex. For me 
personally, this issue is not a new one: during the 104th Congress, 
then-Chairman Carlos Moorhead asked me to lead negotiations between the 
parties. Although I held numerous meetings involving members of the 
content community and members of the service provider community, 
unfortunately we were not able to resolve this issue.
  At the beginning of the 105th Congress, Chairman Coble asked me to 
again lead the negotiations between the parties on this issue. As a 
starting point, we asked the parties involved to submit written 
comments on H.R. 2180, the ``On-Line Copyright Liability Limitation 
Act,'' introduced by Chairman Coble and Chairman Henry Hyde.  We then 
used those comments as a basis for a discussion draft, which I had 
hoped to offer as a substitute to H.R. 2180 during Subcommittee 
consideration of the legislation.
  Comments on the first discussion draft led to a second discussion 
draft, in which I, along with my staff, Chairman Coble's staff, and 
Ranking Member Barney Frank's staff, attempted to combine suggestions 
from both sides into a bill that the parties could support. While both 
sides attempted to work within the structure of H.R. 2180, it became 
clear to us that the path we were on would not result in a resolution 
of this issue.
  The bill introduced today marks a new beginning of this process. The 
``On-Line Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act'' is intended 
as a codification of the decision in Religious Technology Center v. 
Netcom, 907 F. Supp. 1361 (N.D. Cal. 1995), in which the Court held 
that an Internet access provider was not directly liable for copyright 
infringement committed by a bulletin board subscriber. While I do not 
yet have a proposal that I can say is supported by both sides of this 
debate, I am not currently aware of any opposition to the principles 
adopted by the Court in Netcom.
  It is my hope that this new bill will encourage the parties involved 
in this issue to come together and agree on a solution. I do not see 
the introduction of this bill as the end of negotiations on the issue 
of liability for on-lone copyright infringement; to the contrary, I 
believe that it will further the negotiations by beginning with basic 
principles on which the parties can agree. Undoubtedly both sides will 
want to see changes made to this legislation, and I am committed to 
continuing to work with the parties in the hope of reaching a 
successful resolution to this issue.
  I would additionally like to discuss the importance of the World 
Intellectual Property Organization treaties, and the accompanying 
implementing legislation, which are critical to protecting U.S. 
copyrights overseas. The United States is the world leader in 
intellectual property. We export billions of dollars worth of creative 
works every year in the form of software, books, videotapes, and 
records. Our ability to create so many quality products has become a 
bulwark of our national economy, and it is vital that copyright 
protection for these products not stop at our borders. International 
protection of U.S. copyrights will be of tremendous benefit to our 
economy--but we need to ratify the WIPO treaties for this to happen.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a critical issue to the development of the 
Internet, and I believe that both sides in this debate need each other. 
If America's creators do not believe that their works will be protected 
when they put them on-line, then the Internet will lack the creative 
content it needs to reach its true potential. And if America's service 
providers are subject to litigation for the acts of third parties at 
the drop of a hat, they will lack the incentive to provide quick and 
efficient access to the Internet.
  The ``On-Line Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act'' will 
not solve every problem posed by the content and service provider 
communities. I do believe, however, that this bill is a good first step 
towards reaching consensus on this issue, and I encourage the parties 
involved to work together to create a mutually beneficial solution.

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