I am writing to encourage you to favor the revision
of Section 107 of the copyright law, to bring it into
line with the Berne Convention. It is my under-
standing that this revision of the copyright law
would clearly define reproduction of political
speeches, and governmental and legal proceedings as
"fair use" under the copyright act, allowing for
their dissemination. Professor L. Ray Patterson
will be appearing on June 17, before a subcommittee
of the House Judiciary Committee, and I believe you
will find him a persuasive witness for this point of
view.

Being in the information business, we, our employees, and our clients are interested in the freest public flow of information, particularly, concerning news programming and governmental affairs. The proposed revision to Section 107 will, as we understand it, simply bring our copyright law into line with accepted international practice and make clear the unfettered right to reproduce speeches, governmental proceedings, and public and legal proceedings.

Yours truly,

RCW/PP

Robert C. Waggoner
President

75 EAST NORTHFIELD ROAD LIVINGSTON NEW JERSEY 07039 (201) 992-6600 (212) 227-5570 (800) 631-1160 PRESS C PRINGS TV & R1 ~THANNA

ANALYSIS NEVE PRE

June 8, 1987

The Honorable Robert W. Kastenmeier
Chairman

Subcommittee on Courts, Civil Liberties

and Administration of Justice

Committee on the Judiciary
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Mr. Chairman:

We are writing to commend you on the approach you have taken in introducing legislation to implement the Berne Copyright Convention, which presents all issues associated with Berne for consideration and debate. Such an open, comprehensive approach to examining Berne will be helpful not only to those within the copyright community with particular points of view, but to the American public, which benefits handsomely from copyright. While we have profound concerns about Berne, we appreciate your providing the opportunity to discuss all aspects of it, including

our concerns.

To be more specific about these concerns, the advantages that some see to Berne in setting international norms of conduct on intellectual property generally and in the fight against international piracy specifically are of diminishing value, if they any longer exist at all. Much, if not more now, and certainly in the near future, can be accomplished through other approaches and institutions, including the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

In exchange for what appear to be the increasingly illusory benefits of Berne, we face the possibility of disruption to the ways we have conducted our businesses through the importation of the doctrine of droit moral ("moral rights"). No one has a higher regard and appreciation for authors and other creative contributors to collective endeavors than do our organizations, whose businesses in books, magazines and video programming all depend and thrive upon those contributions. However, importation of a "moral rights" regime could revise the entire set of working relationships we have developed over time and jeopardize, to a very real extent, the stability and predictability of our business environment. When we ponder the litigiousness of Americans -- and the arts world is no exception -- and the "mega-verdict" mentality of the American tort law system, the scenario becomes very daunting. For us, the disappearing virtues

The Honorable Robert W. Kastenmeier
June 8, 1987

page 2

of Berne simply do not outweigh the risks to our domestic businesses. We also feel that Berne is inimical to American principles of freedom of expression because it places additional obstacles in the path of the free flow of information and because it expressly upholds the right of censorship by national governments (Article 17).

Thank you and we look forward to discussing these and related matters with you as your Berne initiative unfolds.

Mr. Chairman, Senators:

Richard Serra

Sculptor

175 Duane Street

New York, NY 10013

For me to speak of the necessity of moral rights for
artists or of the necessity for the United States to
join the Berne Convention is not a theoretical exercise.
If the United States had signed the treaty I would not be
involved in a lengthy and distressing lawsuit against the
Federal Government to protect one of my sculptures from

destruction.

I will try to explain briefly what I do and why I have a
personal interest in article 6 of the Berne Convention.
My major concern as a sculptor is to build works which
are oriented to a site. This concept developed by myself
and other artists in the late sixties and seventies
has come to be known as the concept of site-specificity.
Specificity of a site-oriented work means that this work
has been conceived for, is dependent upon and inseparable
from its location. The work is, as a matter of fact,
identical with its location. By definition that means,