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HR 3531, Courts and Intellectual Property Subcommittee contactinfo



  Hello all,
  
  Contact Information for each of members of the Courts and Intellectual
  Property Subcommittee of the House Judiciary committee
  (http://www.house.gov/judiciary/) is included below. (The Courts and
  Intellectual Property Subcommittee is considering HR 3531, The Database
  Investment and Intellectual Property Antipiracy Act of 1996). The bill
  itself is also included.
  
  Please feel free to distribute this information as widely as possible.
  
  Peace,
  
  Tim
  
  
  COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY
  (202) 225-3951
  2138 Rayburn House Office Building
  Washington, D.C. 20515
  
  
  
  
  CONTACT INFO:
  
  -------------------------------------------------
                     Republicans
  -------------------------------------------------
  
  Carlos J. Moorhead (Subcommittee Chairman)
     Washington DC Address:
        2346 Rayburn House Office Building
        Washington, D.C. 20515-0527
        PHONE: (202) 225-4176
        FAX: (202) 226-1279
     District Address:
        301 E. Colorado Blvd. Room 618
        Pasadena, CA 91101-1911
        PHONE: (818) 792-6168
        FAX: (818) 792-6528
  
  
  James Sensenbrenner of WI
     Washington DC Address:
        2332 Rayburn House Office Building
        Washington, D.C. 20515-4909
        PHONE: (202) 225-5101
        FAX: (202) 225-3190
     District Address:
        120 Bishops Way Room 154
        Brookfield, WI 53005-6294
        PHONE: (414) 784-1111
     E-mail
        sensen09@hr.house.gov
  
  
  Howard Coble of NC
     Washington DC Address:
        403 Cannon House Office Building
        Washington, D.C. 20515-3306
        PHONE: (202) 225-3065
        FAX: (202) 225-8611
     District Address:
        1404 Piedmont Ave, PO Box 1813, Suite A
        Lexington, NC 27293-1813
        PHONE: (704) 246-8230
        FAX: (704) 246-4275
  
  
  Robert Goodlatte of VA
     Washington DC Address:
        123 Cannon House Office Building
        Washington, D.C. 20515-4606
        PHONE: (202) 225-5431
        FAX: (202) 225-9681
     District Address:
        540 Crestar Plaza, 10 Franklin St. S.E.
        Roanoke, VA 24011
        PHONE: (703) 857-2672
        FAX: (703) 857-2675
     E-mail
        talk2bob@hr.house.gov
  
  
  Sonny Bono of CA
     Washington DC Address:
        512 Cannon House Office Building
        Washington, D.C. 20515-0544
        PHONE: (202) 225-5330
        FAX: (202) 225-2961
     District Address:
        1555 S. Palm Canyon Drive, Suite G-101
        Palm Springs, CA 92264
        PHONE: (619) 320-1076
        FAX: (619) 320-7570
  
  
  George Gekas of PA
     Washington DC Address:
        2410 Rayburn House Office Building
        Washington, D.C. 20515-3817
        PHONE: (202) 225-4315
        FAX: (202) 225-8440
     District Address:
        3805 Vartan Way, Second Floor
        Harrisburg, PA 17110-9335
        PHONE: (717) 541-5507
        FAX: (717) 541-5518
  
  
  Elton Gallegly of CA
     Washington DC Address:
        2441 Rayburn House Office Building
        Washington, D.C. 20515-0523
        PHONE: (202) 225-5811
        FAX: (202) 225-1100
     District Address:
        300 Esplanade Drive Suite 1800
        Oxnard, CA 93030
        PHONE: (805) 485-2300
  
  
  
  Charles Canady of FL
     Washington DC Address:
        1222 Longworth House Office Building
        Washington, D.C. 20515-0912
        PHONE: (202) 225-1252
        FAX: (202) 225-2279
     District Address:
        124 S. Tennessee Ave., Suite 125
        Lakeland, FL 33801
        PHONE: (813) 688-2651
        FAX: (813) 683-4453
     E-mail
        canady@hr.house.gov
  
  
  Martin Hoke of OH
     Washington DC Address:
        212 Cannon House Office Building
        Washington, D.C. 20515-3510
        PHONE: (202) 225-5871
        FAX:
     District Address:
        21270 Lorain Road
        Fairview Park, OH 44126
        PHONE: 216-356-2010
        FAX:
     E-mail
        hokemail@hr.house.gov
  
  
  
  -------------------------------------------------
                     Democrats
  -------------------------------------------------
  
  Pat Schroeder of CO
     Washington DC Address:
        2307 Rayburn House Office Building
        Washington, D.C. 20515-0601
        PHONE: (202) 225-4431
        FAX: (202) 225-5842
     District Address:
        1600 Emerson St.
        Denver, CO 80218
        PHONE: (303) 866-1230
        FAX: (303) 866-1237
  
  
  Jerrold Nadler of NY
     Washington DC Address:
        109 Cannon House Office Building
        Washington, D.C. 20515-3208
        PHONE: (202) 225-5635
        FAX: (202) 225-6923
     District Address:
        1841 Broadway Suite 800
        New York, NY 10023
        PHONE: (212) 489-3530
        FAX: (212) 977-3546
     E-mail
        nadler@hr.house.gov
  
  
  John Conyers of MI
     Washington DC Address:
        2426 Rayburn House Office Building
        Washington, D.C. 20515-2214
        PHONE: (202) 225-5126
        FAX: (202) 225-0072
     District Address:
        Federal Bldg. 231 W. Lafayette, Rm 669
        Detroit, MI 48226-2766
        PHONE: (313) 961-5670
        FAX: (313) 226-2085
     E-mail
        jconyers@hr.house.gov
  
  
  Howard Berman of CA
     Washington DC Address:
        2231 Rayburn House Office Building
        Washington, D.C. 20515-0526
        PHONE: (202) 225-4695
        FAX: (202) 225-5279
     District Address:
        10200 Sepulveda Blvd., Suite 130
        Mission Hills, CA 91345
        PHONE: (818) 891-0543
  
  
  Xavier Becerra of CA
     Washington DC Address:
        1119 Longworth House Office Building
        Washington, D.C. 20515-0530
        PHONE: (202) 225-6235
        FAX: (202) 225-2202
     District Address:
        2435 Colorado Blvd., Suite 200
        Los Angeles, CA 90041
        PHONE: (213) 550-8962
        FAX: (213) 550-1440
  
  
  Rick Boucher of VA
     Washington DC Address:
        2245 Rayburn House Office Building
        Washington, D.C. 20515-4609
        PHONE: (202) 225-3861
        FAX: (202) 225-0442
     District Address:
        188 E. Main St.
        Abingdon, VA 24210-2841
        PHONE: (540) 628-1145
        FAX: (540) 628-2203
     E-mail
        ninthnet@hr.house.gov
  
  
  
  
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  104th Congress H. R. 3531  As Introduced in the House
  
  Note: This document is the unofficial version of a Bill or Resolution.
        The printed Bill and Resolution produced by the Government Printing
        Office is the only official version.
  
  VERSION   As Introduced in the House
  CONGRESS  104th CONGRESS
             2d Session
  BILL                                   H. R. 3531
  TITLE     To amend title 15, United States Code, to promote investment and
                prevent intellectual property piracy with respect to databases.
                                    --------------------
                              IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
                                        MAY 23, 1996
            Mr. Moorhead introduced the following bill; which was referred to
                the Committee on the Judiciary
                                    --------------------
  TEXT                                     A BILL
            To amend title 15, United States Code, to promote investment and
                prevent intellectual property piracy with respect to databases.
              Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
            United States of America in Congress assembled,
            SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
              This Act may be cited as the `Database Investment and
            Intellectual Property Antipiracy Act of 1996`.
            SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
              `Change of commercial significance` means a change that a
            reasonable user of a database would regard as affecting the
            quality, quantity or value of contents of that database as a whole.
              `Commerce` means all commerce that may lawfully be regulated by
            Congress.
              `Database` means a collection, assembly or compilation, in any
            form or medium now or later known or developed, of works, data or
            other materials, arranged in a systematic or methodical way.
              `Database maker` means the natural or juristic person making a
            substantial investment, qualitatively or quantitatively, in the
            collection, assembly, verification, organization and/or
            presentation of the contents of the database.  Unless provided
            otherwise by contract -
                  (1) where two or more persons qualify as the makers of a
                database, they are jointly the database maker;
                  (2) where a database is made by employees within the scope of
                their employment, the employer is the database maker; and
                  (3) where a database is made pursuant to special order or
                commission, the person who ordered or commissioned the database
                is the database maker.
              `Database management information` means the name and other
            identifying information of the database maker, the name and other
            identifying information of the database owner, and terms and
            conditions for extraction and use or reuse of the contents of the
            database.
              `Database owner` means the database maker or the natural or
            juristic person who is the database maker`s successor in interest.
              `Extraction` means the permanent or temporary transfer of all or
            a substantial part of the contents of a database or of a copy or
            copies thereof.  Such transfer may be to an identical or different
            medium, and by any means or in any form, now or later known or
            developed.
              `Governmental entity` means the United States Government, any
            State, any agency or instrumentality of either, and any officer or
            employee of any of the foregoing acting in his or her official
            capacity.
              `Insubstantial part` of a database means any portion of the
            contents of a database whose extraction, use or reuse does not
            diminish the value of the database, conflict with a normal
            exploitation of the database or adversely affect the actual or
            potential market for the database.
              `Juristic person` means any firm, corporation, union,
            association, non-profit institution, or other organization capable
            of suing and being sued in a court of law, but does not include a
            governmental entity.
              `Place in commercial use` means to use or reuse, or to authorize
            use or reuse, for direct or indirect commercial advantage or for
            financial gain.
              `Person` means any natural person, any juristic person, and any
            governmental entity.
              `Use` and `reuse` means making available all or a substantial
            part, qualitatively or quantitatively, of the contents of a
            database, or access to all or such substantial part, whether or not
            for direct or indirect commercial advantage or financial gain, by
            any means now known or later developed, including any of the
            following: (i) marketing, selling, or renting; (ii) in the form of
            permanent or temporary copies; or (iii) by distribution, any online
            or other form of transmission.
            SEC. 3. DATABASES SUBJECT TO THE ACT.
              (a) A database is subject to the Act if it is the result of a
            qualitatively or quantitatively substantial investment of human,
            technical, financial or other resources in the collection,
            assembly, verification, organization or presentation of the
            database contents, and (i) the database is used or reused in
            commerce; or (ii) the database owner intends to use or reuse the
            database in commerce.
              (b) A database otherwise subject to this Act shall remain
            subject, regardless of whether it is made available to the public
            or in commercial use; the form or medium in which it is embodied;
            or whether the database or any contents of the database are
            intellectual creations.
              (c) Except for a database made by a governmental entity, any
            database otherwise subject to this Act, is not excluded herefrom
            because its contents have been obtained from a governmental entity.
              (d) Computer programs are not subject to this Act, including
            without limitation any computer programs used in the manufacture,
            production, operation or maintenance of a database.  However, the
            contents of a database otherwise subject to this Act remain
            subject, notwithstanding their direct or indirect incorporation in
            a computer program or other work.
            SEC. 4. PROHIBITED ACTS.
              (a) No person shall, without the authorization of the database
            owner -
                  (1) extract, use or reuse all or a substantial part,
                qualitatively or quantitatively, of the contents of a database
                subject to this Act in a manner that conflicts with the
                database owner`s normal exploitation of the database or
                adversely affects the actual or potential market for the
                database;
                  (2) engage, notwithstanding section 5(a), in the repeated or
                systematic extraction, use or reuse of insubstantial parts,
                qualitatively or quantitatively, of the contents of a database
                subject to this Act in a manner that cumulatively conflicts
                with the database owner`s normal exploitation of the database
                or adversely affects the actual or potential market for the
                database; or
                  (3) procure, direct or commission any act prohibited by
                subsections (i) or (ii).
              (b) Acts that conflict with a normal exploitation of the database
            or adversely affect the actual or potential market for the database
            include but are not limited to the extraction, use or reuse of all
            or a substantial part of the contents of a database -
                  (1) in a product or service that directly or indirectly
                competes in any market with the database from which it was
                extracted; or
                  (2) in a product or service that directly or indirectly
                competes in any market in which the database owner has a
                demonstrable interest or expectation in licensing or otherwise
                using or reusing the database; or
                  (3) in a product or service for customers who might otherwise
                reasonably be expected to be customers for the database; or
                  (4) by or for multiple persons within an organization or
                entity in lieu of the authorized additional use or reuse (by
                license, purchase or otherwise) of copies of the database by or
                for such persons.
            SEC. 5. EXCEPTIONS TO PROHIBITED ACTS.
              (a) Subject to section 4(a)(ii), a lawful user of a database made
            available to the public or placed in commercial use is not
            prohibited from extracting, using or reusing insubstantial parts of
            its contents, qualitatively or quantitatively, for any purposes
            whatsoever.
              (b) Nothing in this Act shall in any way restrict any person from
            independently collecting, assembling or compiling works, data or
            materials from sources other than a database subject to this Act.
            SEC. 6. DURATION OF PROHIBITIONS.
              (a) A database becomes subject to this Act when the necessary
            investment has been made to qualify its maker as such under section
            2. The database shall remain subject to this Act for a period of
            twenty-five years from the first of January following the date when
            it was first made available to the public or the date when it was
            first placed in commercial use, whichever is earlier.
              (b) Any change of commercial significance, qualitatively or
            quantitatively, to a database, including any such change through
            the accumulation of successive additions, deletions,
            reverifications, alterations, modifications in organization or
            presentation, or other modifications, shall make the resulting
            database subject to this Act for its own term, as calculated under
            subsection (a).
            SEC. 7. CIVIL REMEDIES FOR VIOLATION OF SECTION 4.
              (a) Civil Actions. - A database owner injured by a violation of
            section 4 may bring a civil action for such a violation in an
            appropriate United States district court without regard to the
            amount in controversy: Provided however, That any action against a
            State governmental entity may be brought in any court that has
            jurisdiction over claims against such entity.
              (b) Temporary and Permanent Injunctions. - Any court having
            jurisdiction of a civil action arising hereunder shall have the
            power to grant temporary and permanent injunctions, according to
            the principles of equity and upon such terms as the court may deem
            reasonable, to prevent the violation of section 4. Any such
            injunction granted upon hearing, after notice to the party sought
            to be enjoined, by any district court of the United States, may be
            served on the party against whom such injunction is granted
            anywhere in the United States where such person may be found, and
            shall be operative and may be enforced by proceedings in contempt
            or otherwise by any United States district court having
            jurisdiction over such party.
              (c) Impoundment. - At any time while an action hereunder is
            pending, the court may order the impounding, on such terms as it
            deems reasonable, of all copies of contents of databases extracted
            and or used or reused in violation of section 4, and of all
            masters, tapes, disks, diskettes, or other articles by means of
            which such copies may be reproduced.  The court may, as part of a
            final judgment or decree finding a violation of section 4, order
            the remedial modification or destruction of all copies of contents
            of databases extracted, used or reused in violation of section 4,
            and of all masters, tapes, disks, diskettes, or other articles by
            means of which such copies may be reproduced.
              (d) Monetary Relief. - When a violation of section 4 has been
            established in any civil action arising hereunder, the plaintiff
            shall be entitled, subject to principles of equity, to recover (i)
            defendant`s profit, (ii) any damages sustained by the plaintiff,
            and (iii) the costs of the action.  The court shall assess such
            profits or damages or cause the same to be assessed under its
            direction.  In assessing profits the plaintiff shall be required to
            prove defendant`s sales only; defendant must prove all elements of
            cost or deduction claimed.  In assessing damages the court may
            enter judgment, according to the circumstances of the case, for any
            sum above the amount found as actual damages, not exceeding three
            times such amount.  If the court shall find that the amount of the
            recovery based on profits is either inadequate or excessive, the
            court may in its discretion enter judgment for such sum as it finds
            just.  The court in its discretion may award reasonable attorney
            fees to the prevailing party.
              (e) Subsections (b) and (c) shall not apply to any action against
            the United States Government.
              (f) The relief provided under this section shall be available
            against a State governmental entity to the extent allowed by
            applicable law.
            SEC. 8. CRIMINAL OFFENSES AND PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION OF SECTION 4.
              (a) Any person who violates section 4 willfully, and -
                  (1) does so for direct or indirect commercial advantage or
                financial gain; or
                  (2) thereby causes loss or damage to a database owner
                aggregating $10,000 or more in any one-year calendar period,
                shall be punished as provided in subsection (b).
              (b) An offense under subsection (a) shall be punishable by a fine
            of not more than $250,000 or imprisonment for not more than five
            years, or both.  A second or subsequent offense under subsection
            (a) shall be punishable by a fine of not more than $500,000,
            imprisonment for not more than ten years, or both.
            SEC. 9. RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAWS.
              (a) The remedies against violations hereunder shall be without
            prejudice to any remedies under any copyright that may subsist in
            the database, any contents of the database, or the selection,
            coordination or arrangement of such contents.  Such remedies shall
            not limit,
              impair, or otherwise affect the existence, scope or duration of
            protection under any such copyright.
              (b) Nothing in this Act shall restrict the rights of parties
            freely to enter into licenses or any other contracts with respect
            to databases or their contents.
              (c) Nothing in this Act shall prejudice provisions concerning
            copyright, rights related to copyright or any other rights or
            obligations in the database or its contents, including laws in
            respect of patent, trademark, design rights, antitrust or
            competition, trade secrets, data protection and privacy, access to
            public documents, and the law of contract.
            SEC. 10. CIRCUMVENTION OF DATABASE PROTECTION SYSTEMS.
              No person shall import, manufacture or distribute any device,
  
            product, or component incorporated into a device or product, or
            offer or perform any service, the primary purpose or effect of
            which is to avoid, bypass, remove, deactivate, or otherwise
            circumvent, without the authority of the database owner or the law,
            any process, treatment, mechanism or system which prevents or
            inhibits the extraction, use or reuse of the contents of the
            database in violation of section 4 hereof.
            SEC. 11. INTEGRITY OF DATABASE MANAGEMENT INFORMATION.
              (a) False Database Management Information. - No person shall
            knowingly provide database management information that is false, or
            knowingly publicly distribute or import for public distribution
            database management information that is false.
              (b) Removal or Alteration of Database Management Information. -
            No person shall, without authority of the database owner or the
            law, (i) knowingly remove or alter any database management
            information, (ii) knowingly distribute or import for distribution
            database management information that has been altered without
            authority of the database owner or the law; or (iii) knowingly
            distribute or import for distribution copies of a database from
            which database management information has been removed without the
            authority of the database owner or the law.
            SEC. 12. CIVIL REMEDIES FOR VIOLATION OF SECTIONS 10 OR 11.
              (a) Civil Actions. - Any person injured by a violation of section
            10 or section 11 may bring a civil action for such violation in an
            appropriate United States district court, without regard to the
            amount in controversy: Provided, however, That any action against a
            State governmental entity may be brought in any court that has
            jurisdiction over claims against such entity.
              (b) Powers of the Court. - In an action brought under subsection
            (a), the court -
                  (1) may grant temporary and permanent injunctions on such
                terms as it deems reasonable to prevent or restrain a
                violation;
                  (2) at any time while an action is pending, may order the
                impounding, on such terms as it deems reasonable, of any device
                or product that is in the custody or the control of the alleged
                violator and that the court has reasonable cause to believe was
                involved in a violation;
                  (3) may award damages under subsection (c);
                  (4) in its discretion may allow the recovery of costs by or
                against any party other than the United States or an officer
                thereof;
                  (5) in its discretion may award reasonable attorney`s fees to
                the prevailing party; and
                  (6) may, as part of a final judgment or decree finding a
                violation, order the remedial modification or the destruction
                of any device or product involved in the violation that is in
                the custody or control of the violator or has been impounded
                under subsection (ii).
              (c) Awards of Damages. -
                  (1) In general. - Except as otherwise provided in this Act, a
                violator is liable for either (A) the actual damages and any
                additional profits of the violator, as provided by subsection
                (ii), or (B) statutory damages, as provided by subsection
                (iii).
                  (2) Actual damages. - The court shall award to the
                complaining party the actual damages suffered by him or her as
                a result of the violation, and any profits of the violator that
                are attributable to the violation and are not taken into
                account in computing the actual damages, if the complaining
                party elects such damages at any time before final judgment is
                entered.
                  (3) Statutory damages. -
                      (A) At any time before final judgment is entered, a
                    complaining party may elect to recover an award of
                    statutory damages for each violation of section 10 in the
                    sum of not less than $200 or more than $2,500 per device,
                    product, offer or performance of service, as the court
                    considers just.
                      (B) At any time before final judgment is entered, a
                    complaining party may elect to recover an award of
                    statutory damages for each violation of section 11 in the
                    sum of not less than $2,500 or more than $25,000.
                  (4) Repeated violations. - In any case in which the injured
                party sustains the burden of proving, and the court finds, that
                a person has violated section 10 or 11 within three years after
                a final judgment was entered against that person for another
                such violation, the court may increase the award of damages up
                to triple the amount that would otherwise be awarded, as the
                court considers just.
                  (5) Innocent violations. - The court in its discretion may
                reduce or remit altogether the total award of damages in any
                case in which the violator sustains the burden of proving, and
                the court finds, that the violator was not aware and had no
                reason to believe that its acts constituted a violation.
              (d) Subsections (b) (i) and (ii) shall not apply to any action
            against the United States Government.
              (e) The relief provided under subsection (b) shall be available
            against a State governmental entity to the extent allowed by
            applicable law.
            SEC. 13. CRIMINAL OFFENSES AND PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION OF SECTION
                          11.
              Any person who violates section 11 with intent to defraud shall
            be fined not more than $500,000 or imprisoned for not more than
            five years, or both.
            SEC. 14. LIMITATIONS ON ACTIONS.
              No action shall be maintained under this Act unless it is
            commenced within three years after the database owner knew or
            should have known of the claim.
            SEC. 15. EFFECTIVE DATE.
              (a) This Act shall take effect immediately upon enactment, and
            shall be applicable to acts committed on or after that date.
              (b) No person shall be liable under this Act for use or reuse of
            database contents lawfully extracted from a database, prior to the
            effective date of this Act, by that person or by that person`s
            predecessor in interest.
  ..