April 3, 2001

The Honorable F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr.
Chairman
House Committee on the Judiciary
2138 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

The Honorable Billy Tauzin
Chairman
House Committee on Energy and Commerce
2325 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Chairmen Sensenbrenner and Tauzin:

As the Co-Chairs of the U.S. Technology Policy Committee of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), we are writing to urge you to recognize and preserve the legitimate needs of academic, professional, scientific and ordinary users of data as Congress considers legislation designed to provide new legal protection for databases.

While the ACM acknowledges the need to protect investments made in large data collections, we have a particular interest to ensure that intellectual property policies do not restrict the traditional doctrine of fair use upon which the research community is heavily dependent. Intellectual property policies - including those covering databases - should ensure the continued vibrancy of nonprofit publishers, students, researchers and the general public, even as they seek to protect commercial investments. During the 106th Congress, the ACM expressed concern regarding H.R. 354, "The Collections of Information Antipiracy Act", primarily because it sought to prohibit the transformative use of a "substantial part" of a database in many instances. Since restricting the transformative use of data in such a manner impedes collaborative research, the ACM concluded that enactment of H.R. 354 would have a chilling effect on the U.S. scientific research enterprise.

With a membership of 85,000 computing professionals (60,000 in the U.S.) from all areas of industry, academia, and government, the ACM is the world's oldest and largest professional computing society. We are pleased to offer our significant technical expertise to the development of technology policy. Please contact Jeff Grove at (202) 659-9711 if you have any questions or if the U.S. Technology Policy Committee of the ACM can be of assistance to your efforts.

Sincerely,

Barbara Simons, Ph.D.
Eugene H. Spafford, Ph.D
Co-Chairs
U.S. ACM Public Policy Committee
Association for Computing Machinery

About USACM:

USACM is the U.S. Public Policy Committee of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). ACM is the leading nonprofit membership organization of computer scientists and information technology professionals dedicated to advancing the art, science, engineering and application of information technology. Since 1947, ACM has been a pioneering force in fostering the open interchange of information and promoting both technical and ethical excellence in computing. Over 70,000 computer scientists and information technology professionals from around the world are members of ACM.