ACM: Exclusive Rights to Facts?

[Seth Johnson <seth.johnson@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

ACM Members, put in your two cents . . .


> https://www.myacm.org/opinion/poll.cfm


Member Opinion Poll

January 22, 2004


Issue: Should proposed US Legal Protections for Collections of Data be
Expanded?



Some commercial interests are concerned that their data collections will be
used contrary to their interests and are proposing changes to US law that
would create new ownership rights in a wide variety of factual data and
information collected and contained in online databases. 

ACM's policy position (see below) is that current US laws provide adequate
protection for collections of data, and that additional legislation to
expand such protections is not needed because it could have unintended
side-effects that impose an unwarranted cost on the process of scientific
discourse and society in general.  What's your opinion on ACM's policy
position? 


Issue: Expanding US Legal Protections for Collections of Data

Background:The US Congress is currently considering legislation to create
new ownership rights in a wide variety of factual data and information
collected and contained in online databases. ("Database and Collections of
Information Misappropriation Act" 63k pdf
[http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=108_cong_bills&docid=f:h3261ih.txt.pdf])

It is common practice in science, education, government, and business to
create data collections and make them available for others to use. Under
current US law, once data and information are distributed to the public,
they enter into the public domain. Researchers and consumers are then free
to reuse them in countless ways.

Some commercial interests are concerned that their data collections will be
used contrary to their interests, and are proposing changes to US law that
would create new ownership rights in a wide variety of the data and
information collected and contained in online databases. They suggest that
the current array of existing US laws are inadequate in that they fail to
provide protection from acts of unauthorized uses of data contained in
databases.

The primary proponents of this position are the large information
conglomerates and other firms with specialized interests in data ownership
represented by the Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA). (To
review their arguments SIIA's 2003 Congressional database testimony.
[http://www.siia.net/govt/DatabaseTestimony_9-18-03.pdf])

A diverse coalition of database producers and users (the Netcoalition)
opposes the broad legislative effort to expand legal protections for
collections of data. They have concluded that the proposed legislation will
lead to the growing monopolization of the marketplace for information,
threatening the freedom individuals have to search, gather and exchange
information over the Internet.

The coalition includes the National Academies of Science, the American Civil
Liberties Union, and the Consumer Project on Technology, the American
Libraries Association, Amazon, Comcast, Google, Verizon, Yahoo, Bloomberg
LP, Charles Schwab & Co., and the US Chamber of Commerce. (To review a
summary of the Netcoalition's concerns, see their website
[http://www.netcoalition.org/keyissues/2003-10-21.466.pdf]. To review the
National Academies 2003 testimony by ACM Fellow Dr. William Wulf, see their
website
[http://www4.nationalacademies.org/ocga/testimon.nsf/By+Congress/823a725353e8671d85256daa0074f432?OpenDocument].)

ACM Council is being asked to adopt an association-level ACM policy position
on the issue of expanding legal protections for collections of data as in
the US legislation. As part of its mission, ACM fosters the open exchange of
information, and, thus, the ACM Council encourages all members to provide
feedback. For your information and comment, the proposed ACM policy position
is posted below.


Proposed ACM Position on Extending US Legal Protections for Collections of
Data 

ACM is a publisher and maintains an online digital library. While we have a
vested interest in the protection of our copyrighted information, we also
shoulder a responsibility for our discipline to promote public policies that
advance the open interchange of information in ways that lead to advances in
computing technology of benefit to society.

ACM has concluded that current US laws provide adequate protection for
collections of data. Additional legal protections would impact the
availability and use of data and information that have traditionally been in
the public domain, including government-funded data that might not be
available from any other source. The open sharing of data and information
has been fundamental to the advancement of knowledge, technology and
culture. Any broadly constructed effort intended to increase protection for
commercial data collections would restrict public data collections, thereby
imposing an unwarranted cost on the process of scientific discourse. 

Accordingly, ACM agrees with the National Academies of Science, the American
Libraries Association, the US Chamber of Commerce, and other scientific
societies, public interest groups and businesses that do not see a
compelling need to extend new legal protections for collections of data at
this time.

-- 

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