NATIONAL FEDERATION OF THE BLIND
                                             1800 Johnson Street
                                         Baltimore, Maryland  21230
                                               (410) 659-9314
For more information contact:
James Gashel
Director of Governmental Affairs
                                    IMPORTANT NOTICE ON COPYRIGHT CHANGES
         On July 29, 1996, Senator John Chafee (Republican from Rhode Island) 
presented an amendment on the Senate floor to make
permanent changes in the Copyright Act.  In statements made to support the 
amendment, Senator Chafee said that the legislation was based on an agreement 
reached by the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) and the Association of 
American Publishers (AAP). In fact, except for the addition of a clause 
concerning computer programs, agreed to in advance, the text of the Chafee 
amendment is exactly the same as the NFB/AAP agreement.  The agreement had 
received broad support in Congress and from all agencies and organizations 
affected.
         The copyright amendments passed the Senate by unanimous consent on 
July 30 as part of a bill to appropriate funds for operating the Congress and 
other agencies of the Legislative Branch, including the Library of Congress.  
The bill was then referred to a conference committee so that provisions which 
the Senate had added or altered could be considered by members of the House.  
Although the copyright amendments had not been included in the House version, 
the conferees from the House readily
accepted them.
         When the legislation is signed by President Clinton, which is 
expected, the changes in the copyright law resulting from the Chafee 
amendment will go into effect immediately.  This will mean the following:
(1)  The permission of publishers or copyright owners is now not required if 
an authorized entity reproduces or distributes a nondramatic literary work in 
a specialized format for the
exclusive use of blind persons or others with physical
disabilities.
(2)  An "authorized entity" refers to a nonprofit organization or 
governmental agency whose primary mission is to provide
specialized services relating to training, education, or adaptive reading or 
information access needs of blind or other persons with disabilities.
(3)  "Specialized formats" include Braille, audio, or digital text 
exclusively for use by blind or other persons with
disabilities.
(4)  "Blind or other persons with disabilities" means individuals who are 
eligible for or can qualify to receive specialized
library services under existing definitions used by the National Library 
Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped of the Library of Congress 
and its network of cooperating libraries. Permission is no longer required 
from the copyright holder if reading matter is reproduced or distributed in a 
specialized format exclusively to members of this population.
(5)  Every work which is reproduced in a specialized format must include a 
notice that further reproduction without permission of the copyright holder 
is prohibited unless the reproduction is in a specialized format.  The notice 
must identify the copyright owner and the date of the original publication.
(6)  Two types of materials--standardized tests and certain portions of 
computer programs--cannot be reproduced without permission.  The exact 
language of this exception says: "The provisions of this section shall not 
apply to standardized,secure, or norm-referenced tests and related testing 
material, or to computer programs, except the portions thereof that are in 
conventional human language (including descriptions of pictorial works) and 
displayed to users in the ordinary course of using the computer programs."
         The important, bottom-line result of the new legislation is that the 
copyright permission process is now a thing of the past. The procedures and 
delays involved in securing copyright
clearance are also now in the past.  In the short run, this should mean much 
faster service for readers.  As for the future,the Chafee amendment will very 
likely prove to be crucial as the national information infrastructure 
evolves.  
         According to Mr. Frank Kurt Cylke, Director of the National Library 
Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped of the Library of Congress, 
the changes in the copyright law made by the Chafee amendment represent the 
most significant development in making reading matter available to the blind 
since Congress established the National Library Service program in the 
Library of Congress in 1931.  In a letter sent to Senator Chafee on August 1, 
Mr. Cylke said: "I know I join Kenneth Jernigan,
President Emeritus of the National Federation of the Blind, and all others in 
the community in extending heartfelt appreciation." As word of the Chafee 
amendment has begun to circulate, Mr.
Cylke's sentiments have been echoed by blind individuals and officials of 
agencies that serve them.
--- Maximus 2.02
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