[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 45 (Wednesday, March 8, 1995)] [Notices] [Pages 12744-12745] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 95-5666] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE Patent and Trademark Office National Information Infrastructure (NII) Copyright Awareness Campaign AGENCY: Patent and Trademark Office, Commerce. ACTION: Notice of meeting. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The Working Group on Intellectual Property Rights of the White House Information Infrastructure Task Force (IITF) issued a preliminary draft of its report, ``Intellectual Property and the National Information Infrastructure,'' on July 7, 1994. One of the Working Group's findings announced in the preliminary draft is that effective education of the public about intellectual property rights is crucial to the successful development of the NII. The Working Group recognizes that the public's awareness of their own intellectual property rights, as well as those of others, will lead to increased respect for those rights. In order to effectuate public awareness of copyright, the preliminary draft, on page 140, stated that the [[Page 12745]] Working Group would sponsor a conference to develop curricula that may be used in schools and libraries to educate the public about intellectual property rights in the NII environment. The draft further stated that anyone who wished to participate in the conference should request to do so by sending a request to Terri A. Southwick by July 25, 1994. The participants have been chosen and notified. Every effort was made to ensure that a wide diversity of interests will be represented at the conference. All meetings will be open to the public. Information on subsequent meetings may be obtained by calling Alan Wright at (703) 305-9300. DATES: The first meeting of the Copyright Awareness Campaign, will be held in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, March 21, 1995. It will begin at 2 p.m. and last until 5 p.m. ADDRESSES: The first meeting will be held at the U.S. Department of Education, 600 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC, in the Barnard Auditorium. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alan Wright, Office of Legislative and International Affairs, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, Box 4, Washington, DC 20231. Telephone: (703) 305-9300; Fax: (703) 305-8885. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Working Group on Intellectual Property Rights, chaired by Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks Bruce A. Lehman, was established as part of the White House Information Infrastructure Task Force. The Task Force, chaired by Secretary of Commerce Ronald H. Brown, was created to work with Congress and the private sector to develop comprehensive telecommunications and information policies aimed at articulating and implementing the Administration's vision for the National Information Infrastructure (NII). The Working Group's concern for improved public education regarding intellectual property rights in the NII environment was expressed in the preliminary draft of its report. The Copyright Awareness Campaign will bring together public and private educators, representing all levels of elementary, secondary, and post-secondary education, as well as copyright owners and users to formulate public awareness strategies and develop model curricula regarding the use of protected intellectual property on the NII. In addition to developing substantive curricula, the campaign will also explore how best to disseminate such curricula. The ultimate goal of the campaign is to identify the intellectual property issues that the public must be aware of in the NII environment, and to determine the methods by which such information may be disseminated to the public. The campaign is not intended to be a forum for further elaboration on the issue of educational fair use, which is currently under discussion in the Conference on Fair Use that began last September. The campaign is concerned with educating the public on the importance of respecting intellectual property rights generally, with a particular focus on the NII environment. Dated: March 3, 1995. Bruce A. Lehman, Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks. [FR Doc. 95-5666 Filed 3-7-95; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510-16-M