[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 138 (Saturday, October 28, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1974]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          DATABASE PROTECTION

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DAVID L. HOBSON

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 26, 2000

  Mr. HOBSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to voice my support for an 
important issue that will require the full attention of Congress in the 
coming year--database protection. While I am disappointed that 
consensus could not be reached this year on legislation to protect the 
right of individuals and organizations to protect their databases from 
the outright theft of their products, I am hopeful that the 107th 
Congress will act expeditiously on this issue when it convenes in 
January. A database anti-piracy law is an imperative for an information 
society that is growing ever more dependent on the Internet and on the 
information available in electronic databases.
  Companies that compile the complex information for these databases 
put a tremendous amount of work into developing an accurate, 
understandable resource bank for private or public use. This is a 
lengthy, expensive, and ongoing process that deserves to be protected. 
Individuals, companies, and organizations that work hard to compile 
information for the benefit of their consumers should be protected 
under our laws. It is not acceptable to allow a ``data pirate'' to 
steal the product of someone else's hard work and profit from it, while 
causing the original compiler market harm. Our nation's intellectual 
property laws have long recognized the importance of rewarding work 
with legal protection, and this is one area where the law needs to be 
improved to keep up with advances in technology unforeseen by earlier 
generations of lawmakers.
  In the district I represent, the consequences of inaction are very 
real. I have a background in small business and real estate, so I know 
that importance of this legislation. From the local realtor to the 
database company that employs thousands in my state, not acting to 
provide legal recourse to the victims of data piracy, significantly 
affects jobs and commerce in Central Ohio.
  I am concerned that without legislation to protect their databases, 
there is no incentive to devote time, capital, and resources to the 
creation and maintenance of dependable and accurate databases. People 
from all walks of life utilize these databases everyday for information 
on medicine to information on real estate. Society will be severely 
affected if these information systems cease to exist. Without 
legislation to protect them, the lack of incentives for creating and 
maintaining databases of accurate information will eventually lead to 
the non-production of these important data compilations.
  In the next Congress, we can develop legislation that will protect 
database producers and still allow consumers the same access to the 
free flow of information for legitimate purposes. Developing sound 
legislation on database anti-piracy will be a top priority for me in 
the 107th Congress. I look forward to working with Mr. Coble, Chairman 
of the Judiciary Courts and Intellectual Property Subcommittee, the 
Commerce Committee, and the House Leadership on this important issue.

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