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OFF THE WIRE: INTERNET 2 Plans An Electronic Directory of Higher Education The Internet2 consortium is planning an online directory of faculty, staff, and students at higher education institutions. Consortium leaders said the project could be ready as soon as this summer and would be available to any user, not only those whose institutions offer high-speed networks. Such a directory would facilitate academic communication and collaboration through a host of technologies, including e-mail, instant messaging, teleconferencing, and the emerging technology known as tele-immersion. The project faces obstacles concerning privacy issues and standardization of data. Sun Microsystems has pledged to support the project with hardware and software, and member institutions will provide technical support. Senate Passes Bill Extending Copyright Exemption to Online Courses The U.S. Senate has passed a bill that would allow faculty members to use many of the same copyrighted works in online courses that they've long been allowed to use in traditional ones. The bill, known as the Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization Act of 2001, S. 487, was approved recently by a voice vote. If an identical bill makes it through the House of Representatives and is signed by President Bush, it would extend the existing copyright exemption for classroom use of “dramatic literary and musical works,” such as movie clips and popular songs, to nonprofit distance-education courses. The legislation “reflects our understanding that we must be able to use new technologies to advance our education goals in a manner that recognizes and protects copyrighted works,” said Sen. Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat who is chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, in a prepared statement. He and Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, who is from Utah and who is the committee’s ranking Republican member, were authors of the legislation. Rep. Rick Boucher, a Virginia Democrat, has filed the House version of the bill, H.R. 2100. It has been sent to the House Judiciary Committee for consideration. Faculty members in distance education and the staff of the U.S. Copyright Office have been advocating such a change to copyright law for several years. Publishing associations originally opposed proposed changes, but they later offered support after the bill's language was narrowed to protect the copyright holders while letting nonprofit colleges and universities use the works for academic purposes. |
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