September 01, 1995
Press Release # 95-26

PRESS RELEASE, 95-26

Brown and Lehman Release Final Report from the Working Group on Intellectual Property and the National Information Infrastructure

	  
	  
EMBARGOED UNTIL 10:30 A.M. ON TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 5


Secretary of Commerce Ronald H. Brown, Chairman of the White
House Information Infrastructure Task Force, today released the
final report on Intellectual Property and the National
Information Infrastructure.  The report explains how current
copyright law applies in cyberspace and makes legislative
recommendations to fine tune intellectual property law for the
digital age.

"The mission of the Department is to make our economy grow, to
promote science and technology, and to increase our international
trade," Brown said.  "This Report will help ensure that the nii
is a favorable environment for the development of an electronic
marketplace for commerce," he said.  Brown cautioned, however,
that "Unless we provide legal protection of IP on the NII, people
won't be able to reap the benefits of these new technologies."

"Without enforceable laws in place, intellectual property owners
will be unwilling to put their works at risk in this rapidly
expanding digital environment," said Bruce A. Lehman, Chairman of
the Working Group on Intellectual Property.  "The Working Group
has," Lehman continued, "examined existing copyright law and are
recommending changes that will allow owners and users of all
types of materials, from movies to software, to realize the full
potential of the information superhighway as a commercial
marketplace."

Last summer, a preliminary draft of the report--the Green Paper--
was released for public comment.  This final report incorporates
changes that resulted from the hearings conducted with interested
groups around the nation and the public comments received.

The report includes recommendations to Congress regarding some
limited, but important, changes to the copyright law, including
clarification of the copyright owner's distribution right and
amendment of the library privileges to bring them into the
digital age.
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