Largest fine for CD piracy

In a largest ever criminal fine for CD piracy, a landmark ruling in the Netherlands has forced a six-man CD pirate gang to repay half their illegal profits _ a total of one million guilders (US$ 500,000) to the Dutch state. The gang members have been held responsible for the distribution of around 350,000 illegal pirated CDs and making criminal profits of two million guilders.

— Copyright World May 2000

Interlending and document supply: a review of recent literature.
P Connolly. Interlending & Document Supply, 1999, 27 (1),33-41.

Reviews literature related to several aspects of interlibrary loan and document supply. Discusses the impact of electronic technology on traditional interlibrary services, emphasizing the increased availability of and access to electronic resources. Highlights the problems linked to copyright and licensing and considers the unresolved issues of fair use. Includes articles on electronic publishing and the use of commercial document suppliers.

— Reproduced with modification from J intellec Prop Rights 2000, 5(4), 216.

Fee for `in' domain name

The Internet Management Group (IMG), set up by the government, drawing members from DoT, Ministry of Information Technology and National Centre for Software Technology (NCST) and entrusted with the responsibility of overseeing domain name registration in India, has decided to levy a "token" fee for the aforesaid domain name. The fees will be levied retrospectively from 1 March 2000 and has to be paid up by 31 July 2000. Earlier, Indian companies and organizations were allotted free `in' domain names by NCST - the body authorized to register names ending in the India-specific country code. The fees now payable are: an initial payment of Rs 1,500 for the first two years and Rs. 750 per year thereafter. Even existing domain name holders have been asked to pay Rs 1,500 with effect from 1 March 2000. Nearly 2,000 domain names ending with the country code `in' have been registered with NCST, of which 1300 have been registered by commercial organizations. If payment is not received by the aforesaid date, the domain name will be de-activated. The name will also be made available to any new applicant who meets the requirements for allotment of the name . Modifications to registration details are also no longer free; the charges will now be Rs 4000. Most organizations as a precautionary measure opt for multiple registration and also register under the co. in domain to curb cyber squatting of their registered name or trademark. Organizations such as Microsoft, Dun and Bradstreet and P&G, have registered their Indian units under `co.in'. [The Economic Times, 7 May 2000]

— Reproduced with modification from J intellec Prop Rights 2000, 5(4), 216

Library of Congress and US Copyright Office sign agreement with UMI

The Library of Congress (LC) and US Copyright Office signed a cooperative agreement with UMI, a Bell & Howell company, that makes electronic copyright registration and deposit of dissertations with the US Copyright Office possible. The agreement also designates UMI's ProQuest Digital Dissertations as the official offsite repository for a collection of more than 100,000 dissertations and theses converted to digital form since 1997, as well as those to be produced in future. According to Winston Tabb, Associate Librarian for Library Services, this is an innovative method of expanding collection of digital research tools and for improving access at reduced cost. UMI's digital dissertation programme will also enable the library to provide access to the newly submitted dissertations that are available only in electronic form. ProQuest Digital Dissertations, a comprehensive digital archive of every dissertation submitted to UMI since January 1997 was developed in collaboration with its dissertation microfilming and publishing venture. UMI is now registering and depositing copies of dissertations in digital form using Copyright Office Electronic Registration, Recordation, and Deposit System (CORDS) developed by the US Copyright Office, which is providing UMI with the required software and technical assistance. For the near future, the LC will also continue to acquire a microfilm version of all dissertations as the `best edition' for archival purposes. The copyright system has been a constituent of LC since 1870. Besides administering the copyright law, the US Copyright Office creates and maintains the national public record of copyright registration, provides technical assistance and policy advice on copyright issues to Congress and executive branch agencies, offers information to the general public and obtains copies of works for the LC collection. UMI acquires doctoral dissertations from more than 99% of the accredited institutions of higher education in North America, as well as growing number of universities throughout Europe and Asia. Its Dissertation Abstracts International database holding data of the last sixty years surpassed 1.5 million titles in 1988. It collects, organizes, and provides value-added information to libraries and some senior schools. More information about UMI can be had from the Web site http://www.uni.com

— Reproduced with modification from J intellec Prop Rights 2000, 5(4), 216