CCUMC: The Consortium of College and University Media Centers

CCUMC's Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia in Relation to the Conference on Fair Use (CONFU):

The Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia negotiations committee was convened by CCUMC in June 1994 immediately following an Educational Fair Access and the New Media Conference held at American University. The committee met on a monthly basis until the guidelines were completed in August 1996. The multimedia guidelines negotiations began before the inception of CONFU. After CONFU meetings began, the multimedia negotiations continued outside of the CONFU plenary and subcommittee process. A number of the multimedia negotiators were also CONFU participants, however. As a result, the multimedia negotiations opened to all CONFU participants and multimedia updates provided on a regular basis at CONFU meetings.

Outcomes:

The Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia received broad endorsement from both the user and copyright holder communities. They were adopted by the Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property, Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. House of Representatives in a nonlegislative report on September 27, 1996.

Phase One

CONFU met in plenary session on a monthly basis through May 19, 1997. CONFU participants included representatives from the government, educational institutions/organizations, industry and the copyright holder community. Topics of discussion at CONFU plenary sessions included the purpose of fair use, licensing, encryption, the definition of various learning environments, the definition of a library, preservation, access for the disabled, international harmonization, the feasibility of fair use guidelines, and the first amendment.

Throughout 1995 and 1996, CONFU subcommittees also met regularly to work on fair use guidelines for distance learning, digital images, electronic reserve systems, interlibrary loan/document delivery and a statement on the use of copyrighted computer software in libraries.

In October 1994, CONFU recognized that CCUMC had convened a multimedia guidelines negotiating group prior to CONFU and noted that this group would run parallel to CONFU and would report its progress at CONFU plenary sessions. In September 1996, CONFU accepted the Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia developed by the organizations that CCUMC had convened, and indicated that these guidelines would be included in all subsequent CONFU reports.

In May 1997, the end of Phase One, CONFU released one set of finalized fair use guidelines for public use: Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia, and two sets of proposed fair use guidelines for public debate: Distance Learning Fair Use Guidelines and Digital Images Fair Use Guidelines.

Phase Two

CONFU Steering Committee meetings began in June 1997 with the intent of continuing work on the distance learning and digital images fair use guidelines. In addition, licensing discussions were reopened with an eye to identifying new, innovative licensing agreements that had proved successful to both the copyright holder and user communities. The final CONFU Plenary Session was held on May 18, 1998.

CONFU Outcomes:

Perhaps the most beneficial result of CONFU was that it provided a forum where representatives from a variety of communities could express their concerns about fair use in the digital realm and, more importantly, learn about the concerns of other communities.

The Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia: At the May 19, 1997 CONFU Plenary Session, it was clear that the Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia had the broad support of CONFU participants, as well as, other organizations in both the copyright user and copyright holder communities. It was noted, however, that some educational associations did not support them. CONFU acknowledged the Subcommittee on Courts and Intellectual Property, Committee on the Judiciary, U.S. House of Representatives adoption of these guidelines in a nonlegislative report on September 27, 1996. During an update on the implementation of the Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia at the final CONFU meeting, it was noted that these guidelines or links to them appear on over six hundred educational websites.

The Statement on the Use of Copyrighted Computer Sojhvare in Libraries: After plenary discussions of scenarios developed by representatives from library and software publishers communities, it was agreed by CONFU participants that, since the scenarios illustrated the general rules and how specific uses of computer software programs in libraries either complied with or violated the Copyright Act, there was no need for fair use guidelines. In September 1996, The Statement on the Use of Copyrighted Computer Sojhvare in Libraries - Scenarios was adopted by CONFU participants. In November 1996, it was agreed that this Statement should be appended to the Interim Report and included in all subsequent CONFU reports.

Fair Use Guidelines for Distance Learning: The Subcommittee met regularly between 1995 and 1997. Initial discussion centered on the fair use of copyrighted material in the synchronous distance learning setting. At the end of Phase One CONFU, enough progress had been made in this area that the negotiators decided to continue their work during Phase Two CONFU. Further, it was decided that the Subcommittee would broaden its discussion to include asynchronous distance leaning situations and expand its membership to include more educational institutions directly involved with distance learning.

After several meetings, at which some CONFU participants from educational and library organizations expressed strong opposition to continuing the guideline effort within the CONFU process, the Distance Learning Subcommittee ceased to meet. This development was reported at the final CONFU plenary session on May 18, 1998, at which time it was noted that then pending legislation directed the Copyright Office to provide Congress with a report recommending ways to promote the use of copyrighted material during distance learning in today's digital environment. Legislative outcomes are still pending.

Fair Use Guidelines for Digital Images: Following extensive national discussion of the proposal for Fair Use Guidelines for Digital Images by many art history, art education and preservation organizations, it was apparent that while a number of organizations had endorsed the proposed guidelines and were willing to implement them, there was a significant number of organizations that found these guidelines unworkable and opposed their endorsement. CONFU recognized the lack of consensus at the final CONFU plenary session on May 18, 1998. No further work was done on the Fair Use Guidelines for Digital Images.

Fair Use Guidelines for Electronic Reserve Systems and Interlibrary LoanlDocument Delivery: The members of these subcommittees were unable to reach consensus on either set of proposed guidelines. No further work has been done on these guidelines.

Reports Generated:

The CONFU process generated three reports all of which are available through the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office via its website:

1. The Interim CONFU Report, December 1996
2. The Conference on Fair Use: Report to the Commissioner on the Conclusion of the First Phase of CONFU, September 1997
3. The Conference on Fair Use: Report to the Commissioner on the Conclusion of CONFU (November 1998)