BILL WOULD DISALLOW COPYRIGHT FOR FEDERALLY FUNDED RESEARCH - A bill introduced in the US House of Representatives would prevent researchers from claiming copyright protections for published work that received "substantial" federal funding. No definition is given for "substantial" in the bill. Martin Olav Sabo (D-MN) introduced the bill in an effort to guarantee public access to research for "all who may benefit from it - especially when they've already paid for it with their tax dollars." The Public Library of Science, an organization that is planning to introduce two free, online scientific journals, supports the proposed legislation. Opponents said the law is unnecessary because a large portion of academic work is already available online.
Peter D. Farnham of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology said Sabo's bill would conflict with the Bayh-Dole Act, passed in 1980, which allows researchers to claim intellectual property rights on their work, even if funded by federal money. For the complete article see:
http://chronicle.com/daily/2003/06/2003062702n.htm (Chronicle of Higher Education, 27 June 03 - Edupage, 27 June 03)

COPYRIGHT HOLDERS CAN SHUT DOWN UNIVERSITY ISP SERVICES - The US District Court for the District of Hawaii has ruled that the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) does not require copyright holders to conduct an investigation to establish actual infringement before sending notice to an Internet Service Provider (ISP) requiring them to shut down an allegedly infringing Web site, or stopping service to an alleged violator. The decision stems from a suit filed against the Motion Picture Association of America as a result of a series of cease and desist orders issued in 2001 accusing InternetMovies.com of distributing unauthorized copies of copyrighted motion pictures, which led to shutting down the entire Web site. InternetMovies.com
said the decision has serious implications for university campuses as many students and faculty use the school as ISPs and any copyright holder can seek to lawfully shut down whole university networks without an investigation under the protection of the DMCA. (Syllabus News Update, 3 June 03)