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ninch-announce: CONFU "FINAL" REPORT

ninch-announce: CONFU "FINAL" REPORT

CONFU "FINAL" REPORT

David Green (david@ninch.org)
Tue, 7 Oct 1997 12:45:16 -0400 

Message-Id: <v02130528b060147fae6b@[192.100.21.23]>
Date: Tue, 7 Oct 1997 12:45:16 -0400
To: ninch-announce@cni.org
From: david@ninch.org (David Green)
Subject: CONFU "FINAL" REPORT


NINCH ANNOUNCEMENT
October 7, 1997


               PATENT & TRADEMARK OFFICE RELEASES CONFU REPORT:

         "REPORT TO THE COMMISSIONER ON THE CONCLUSION OF THE FIRST
                    PHASE OF THE CONFERENCE ON FAIR USE"


Peter Fowler's "Report to the Commissioner," based on the "final" CONFU
meeting of May 19,1997 was released September 30, 1997.

The Report may be read on the PTO's website at
<http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/dcom/olia/confu/conclutoc.html>.

Individual print copies may be obtained by writing to the address or fax
number below:


CONFU Report
c/o Richard Maulsby, Director
Office of Public Affairs
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Washington, DC 20231
fax: (703) 308-5258


I reproduce the Results and Conclusion of the Report below:

                               *   *   *   *

III. RESULTS

1. It was agreed by the participants at the CONFU plenary session meeting
held on May 19, 1997, that a Report to the Commissioner on the Conclusion
of the First Phase of the Conference on Fair Use will be written by the
facilitator, that said Report will include the three sets of guidelines for
digital images, distance learning, and educational multimedia and all
statements and comments received concerning them, and that said Report
would be made available and published in both hard copy and electronic form
to all CONFU participants and the public.

2. It was agreed by the participants at the CONFU plenary session meeting
held on May 19, 1997, that in connection with the Proposed Educational Fair
Use Guidelines for Digital Images, a use period of at least one year will
be instituted for their voluntary adoption, implementation, and review by
interested institutions. During this use period the Digital Images Working
Group will meet periodically to address the various concerns, observations,
and criticisms received in connection with the proposed guidelines, and to
discuss and negotiate possible refinements of the guidelines with the goal
of achieving broad-based support and endorsement of the guidelines. A
report by the Working Group on its activities and the results of the use
period will be made at a meeting on May 18, 1998.

3. It was agreed by the participants at the CONFU plenary session meeting
held on May 19, 1997, that in connection with the Proposed Educational Fair
Use Guidelines for Distance Learning, the membership of the current
Distance Learning Working Group would be expanded to include academic and
educational institutions directly involved in distance learning activities.
During the next year, the Distance Learning Working Group will continue to
meet periodically to address the various concerns, observations, and
criticisms received in connection with the proposed guidelines, to discuss
and negotiate the development of guidelines for asynchronous network
delivery of distance learning courses, and to discuss and negotiate
possible refinements of the proposed guidelines with the goal of achieving
broad-based support and endorsement of the guidelines. A report on the
working group's activities will be made at a meeting on May 18, 1998.

4. It was agreed by the participants at the CONFU plenary session meeting
held on May 19, 1997, that the Steering Committee be expanded to eleven
members. Following a discussion on the need to expand the Steering
Committee in such a way as to make it more representative of both the
copyright owner and user communities, the following individuals were
elected by consensus to serve on the expanded Steering Committee: Christine
Dalziel, American Association of Community Colleges and the Instructional
Communications Council; Adam M. Eisgrau, American Library Association; Mary
B. Levering, U.S. Copyright Office, Library of Congress; Lisa Livingston,
Consortium of College and University Media Centers; Victor S. Perlman,
American Society of Media Photographers; Carol Risher, Association of
American Publishers; Judith M. Saffer, Broadcast Music, Inc.; Mark
Traphagen, Software Publishers Association; Laila van Eyck, National
Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges; John C. Vaughn,
Association of American Universities; and Patricia Williams, American
Association of Museums.

5. It was agreed by the participants at the CONFU plenary session meeting
held on May 19, 1997, that CONFU remains committed to fostering a dialogue
on all fair use issues, including browsing, electronic reserves,
interlibrary loan and document delivery, even though proposals concerning
these issues have not been developed fully to date nor been widely accepted
by participants.

6. It was agreed by the participants at the CONFU plenary session meeting
held on May 19, 1997, that a meeting would be convened on May 18, 1998, to
receive reports from the continuing working groups on their activities, to
receive a report from the Digital Images Working Group on the voluntary use
period initiated in connection with the proposed fair use guidelines for
digital images, to review the experiences of institutions that have
implemented the fair use guidelines for educational multimedia, and to
assess the progress, if any, in drafting more comprehensive fair use
guidelines for distance learning, as well as toward achieving greater
acceptance in the copyright owner and user communities for the three sets
of fair use guidelines.


IV. CONCLUSION

CONFU is an extraordinary public-private effort, requiring many days of
meetings and travel since its inception in September 1994. Many
organizations, from both the public and private sector, and especially a
large number of nonprofit organizations, have devoted substantial human and
financial resources and have made significant sacrifices to participate in
the CONFU effort to develop fair use guidelines for educational and library
uses of copyrighted works in a digital environment. The total investment of
time, resources, and sustained participation by those involved cannot be
measured fully.

Some organizations approached CONFU initially in the belief that there was
little chance of reaching agreement on guidelines. Others expressed their
misgivings and skepticism as to whether such a negotiating process could
yield substantial and meaningful results. Yet, most participants feel that
it is both a beneficial forum for discussion and an instructive and
productive endeavor for those interested in fair use issues, even when the
good faith efforts and best intentions of the participants have not always
resulted in a meeting of minds.

Now that CONFU has concluded its first phase of activity, and has placed
three sets of guidelines in the world for public debate, discussion,
endorsement, and implementation, as institutions and organizations see fit,
it now necessarily moves into a new phase of existence. Much the way an
engineer, after spending time and energy to build a model of his or her
invention, must now use it to see if it works, making refinements or
changes where necessary to improve its functioning, so, too, does CONFU now
need to encourage the implementation and use -- the experimentation, if you
will -- of the guidelines to see how they work in the classrooms,
libraries, and media centers where they are needed, and, ultimately, where
their value as workable guidelines will be assessed.

It is true that not all CONFU participants support the three sets of
guidelines. Indeed, some CONFU participants strongly oppose them, while
others strongly support them. It can fairly be said that the CONFU process
of developing fair use guidelines has amply proven the truth of the old
adage that reasonable minds can disagree. That is why this Report,
therefore, contains all statements and comments received in connection with
the three sets of guidelines, so that such information and opinions may be
included in one's own assessment of the value of the guidelines.

As CONFU moves into its next phase, there may not be agreement among all
participants as to the value and viability of the guidelines so far
produced, but there does appear to be wide-spread support among
participants for continuing a dialogue on fair use issues with an ultimate
goal of developing broad-based agreement, at the very least, on principles
and practices, if not guidelines, in the copyright owner and user
communities. Should this happen, this accomplishment alone will have proven
the worth of CONFU as a valuable and important contribution to the
appreciation of fair use in the rapidly expanding digital environment in
which we live.

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