Lame Duck Session is no time to pass important IP legislation

The Honorable Orrin Hatch
104 Hart Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Senator Hatch:

The undersigned technology, library and consumer organizations have grave concerns about several titles of the Intellectual Property Protection Act of 2004 (the IPPA), H.R. 2391.

We believe that intellectual property plays a critical role in the United States as a means of fostering both artistic expression and technological innovation. However, the IPPA contains provisions that, while intended to aid in the protection of intellectual property, may harm the market for and hinder the development of new technologies and may harm long-established user rights. Unfortunately, many of the provisions of the bill did not receive the legislative scrutiny they require.

Accordingly, we request that the IPPA not be considered during the lame-duck session, but instead be carried over into the new Congress when its controversial provisions can be studied and debated in regular order.

Sincerely,

American Association of Law Libraries
American Conservative Union
American Library Association
American Research Libraries
Computer & Communications Industry Association
Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility
Consumer Electronics Association
Digital Future Coalition
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Free Press
Public Knowledge