[Federal Register: April 23, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 78)]
[Notices]
[Page 20482-20483]
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Copyright Office
[Docket No. RM 2001-3]
Public Roundtable on Intellectual Property Aspects of a Draft
Convention on Jurisdiction and Foreign Judgments
AGENCY: Copyright Office, Library of Congress.
ACTION: Notice Announcing Public Forum.
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SUMMARY: The United States Copyright Office announces a public
roundtable discussion on the intellectual property aspects of the
preliminary draft Convention on Jurisdiction and Foreign Judgments in
Civil and Commercial Matters being negotiated by the Hague Conference
on Private International Law that provides special jurisdiction rules
for, among other things, international torts.
Date and Time: The roundtable will be held on Tuesday, May 15,
2001, beginning at 9:30 a.m. and ending at 5:00 p.m.
ADDRESSES: Library of Congress, John Adams Building, Room LA-202, 110
Second Street, SE., Washington, DC. Any member of the public wishing to
attend and requiring special services, such as sign language
interpretation or other ancillary aids, should contact the Library of
Congress at least five (5) working days prior to the hearing by
telephone or electronic mail at the respective contact points listed
immediately below.
Registration is not required to attend the roundtable. Seating will
be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Requests for
participation as a member of the roundtable are required and should be
directed (preferably via e-mail) to Marla Poor, Attorney-Advisor,
Office of Policy and International Affairs, U.S. Copyright Office,
Library of Congress, [email protected].; (202)707-2694 telephone, (202)707-
8366 fax. Requests for participation as a member
[[Page 20483]]
of the roundtable should indicate the following information:
The name of the person desiring to participate;
The organization or organizations represented by that
person, if any;
Contact information (address, telephone, and e-mail);
Information on the specific focus or interest of the
participant (or his or her organization) and any questions or issues
the participant would like to raise.
This request may be sent by e-mail (preferred), by mail, by fax or
by hand-delivery. If sent by e-mail: requests to participate in the
roundtable should be sent to Marla Poor at [email protected].
If delivered by mail: requests to participate in the roundtable
should be addressed to Marla Poor, Attorney-Advisor, GC/I&R, PO Box
70400, Southwest Station, Washington, DC, 20024.
If sent by fax: requests to participate in the roundtable should be
addressed to Marla Poor at 202-707-8366.
If delivered by hand: requests to participate in the roundtable
should be delivered to Marla Poor, Office of Policy and International
Affairs, Copyright Office, Library of Congress, LM-403, James Madison
Memorial Building, 101 Independence Avenue, SE., Washington, DC.
The deadline for receipt of requests to participate in the
roundtable is 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 10, 2001.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marla Poor, Attorney-Advisor, Office
of Policy and International Affairs, U.S. Copyright Office, Library of
Congress (202) 707-2694, [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The draft Convention would create jurisdictional rules governing
international lawsuits and provide for recognition and enforcement of
judgments by the courts of Member States. Member States would be
required to recognize and enforce judgments covered by the Convention
if the jurisdiction in the court rendering the judgment is founded on
one of the bases of jurisdiction required by the Convention.
Discussions on the draft Convention began in 1992, and various
meetings have been held since then. The most recent meetings include an
informal meeting on intellectual property aspects held in Geneva on
February 1, 2001; a public roundtable sponsored by the Federal Trade
Commission on dispute resolution for online business-to-consumer
contracts held in Washington, DC on February 6, 2001; and a week long
series of informal meetings (with an emphasis on electronic commerce
and intellectual property) held in Ottawa the week of February 26,
2001. The Hague Conference posts various documents from these meetings,
such as summaries of discussions, notes and reports, on its website
(www.hcch.net).
The current text of the draft Convention was provisionally adopted
by the Special Commission on June 18, 1999, and then was revised at a
meeting held at The Hague from October 25-30, 1999. The current text of
the draft Convention is available on The Hague Conference website
(www.hcch.net). The first part of a Diplomatic Conference is planned
for June 2001, and the second part will be held in 2002.
On October 17, 2000, the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO)
published a Federal Register Notice requesting comments on the draft
Convention. PTO received 27 comments. Specifically PTO was interested
in assessing support for or opposition to the U.S. effort to negotiate
the draft Convention as it relates to intellectual property. The public
was asked for their views generally on the draft Convention and to
comment on 16 questions that were presented in the Notice.
The purpose of the Copyright Office roundtable will be to bring
together various parties, such as representatives from the copyright
industries, representatives of users of copyrighted works, such as the
American Library Association, consumer organizations and
representatives from industries engaged in electronic commerce who are
interested in the draft Convention. The participants should be prepared
to identify and discuss more fully the issues and problems associated
with the draft Convention, and to propose solutions that will aid the
U.S. delegation to the Hague Conference as it participates in upcoming
meetings to further the treaty negotiations.
Specific issues under discussion at the roundtable may include (but
are not limited to):
Does the draft Convention affect in any way the
substantive law that applies to an activity of any party with respect
to intellectual property?
If a basis for jurisdiction is determined by where the
injury occurs, in the context of electronic commerce, will this subject
a seller to jurisdiction in an unforeseen country? Will there be any
difference if the seller is an individual or a company?
With respect to copyright liability issues, how will ISP's
be implicated under the draft Convention?
What effect could this Convention have on the enforcement
of intellectual property rights with respect to the Internet?
Under the draft Convention, will right holders be able to
sue U.S. residents in foreign countries for intellectual property
infringement for activities which are lawful in the United States? Will
libraries, schools, businesses and individual consumers of information
resources be required to defend themselves in courts far removed from
their normal residence?
In what circumstances will a U.S. court have to enforce a
judgment of a foreign country's court against the U.S. user of
intellectual property?
What effect will the proposed Convention have on the
ability to ensure consistent and predictable interpretation of
licensing terms through choice of forum provisions in license
agreements?
What will be the practical impact of treaty provisions
concerning the exercise of jurisdiction premised solely on a
defendant's presence in the forum?
How will the draft Convention affect traditional
contractual freedom for parties to enter into agreements that typically
designate the choice of jurisdiction and law?
Will the draft Convention provide a predictable legal
regime that will facilitate electronic commerce or impede electronic
commerce? Will the draft Convention disrupt the predictability of
conducting global business and electronic commerce?
Dated: April 18, 2001.
Marybeth Peters,
Register of Copyrights, United States Copyright Office.
[FR Doc. 01-10002 Filed 4-20-01; 8:45 am]
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