activities make it more difficult to generate the investment capital that might contribute to the economic progress of the developing countries. Further, counterfeiting and piracy inhibit local commercialization of products and development of local industries that require an adequate period of exclusivity to recover initial costs. Thus, the industrial, intellectual and artistic creativity to be found in the developing countries may be left underutilized. Recognizing these problems, on February 16, 1987, the policy-making House of Delegates of the American Bar Association adopted two resolutions aimed at prompting U.S. Government action to improve the level of intellectual property protection obtainable in foreign countries. These resolutions are as follows: RESOLVED, that the American Bar Association supports in RESOLVED, that the American Bar Association favors the These resolutions evidence support at the highest level in the American Bar Association for a strong effort by the United States government to obtain an effective GATT agreement on intellectual property in the upcoming round of negotiations. Although the resolutions of the Association are not specific as to the form of agreement, you will note that the second resolution does Honorable Clayton Yeutter June 22, 1987 contemplate the negotiation of intellectual property codes. Such codes, which would establish rights and obligations among the signatories, would facilitate the negotiations since they would enable countries with a common interest in eliminating trade distortions to enter expeditiously into agreement. It has been suggested that conducting the negotiations within the narrow context of a code, as contrasted to amending the GATT, would reduce the problem of trade-offs unrelated to intellectual property issues. Whatever may be the appropriate negotiating strategy and form of agreement, the American Bar Association fully supports the current GATT initiative on intellectual property and supports your efforts to bring it to a successful conclusion. Sincerely, Robert D. Evans Robert D. Evans 6203P CC: Mr. William Marshall Lee, Chairman Section of Patent, Trademark and Copyright Law Mr. Robert S. Rendell, Chairman Section of International Law and Practice Columbia University in the City of New York | New York, NY 10027 This is to tell you that I strongly support Berne Adherence legislation (without special provision for so-called "moral rights") and hope that you will work for adoption of this legislation. Adherence to Berne is essential if we are to play our proper role in world efforts to maintain intellectual property protection and combat piracy. According to Forbes Magazine, intellectual property and the entertainment industries are the U.S.'s second largest income producing sources. We must bend every effort to aid them effectively. give. Thank you for your consideration and any assistance you can Sincerely yours, John M. Kerochan (MB) John M. Kernochan Nash Professor of Law JMK:sb February 19, 1988 ELSEVIER Science Publishing Company, Inc. The Hon. Robert W. Kastenmeier Chairman, Subcommittee on Courts, Civil Liberties, and the Administration of Justice House Committee on the Judiciary 2137 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Dear Congressman Kastenmeier: I am writing on behalf of Elsevier Science Publishing Co. to strongly urge your support of the United States' adherence to the Berne Convention. We believe Berne is important for the defense of U.S. copyrights and will become even more so in the future. It has been our experience in many international copyright meetings and committees that the rest of the world looks to the U.S. to provide the model in copyright matters. The U.S. is expected to be the leader, and its absence from Berne weakens international enforcement efforts. We recognize there is concern about publisher-author relations under Berne. We do not expect problems to develop. As an international publishing company headquartered in the Netherlands, Elsevier works with authors worldwide and publishes within Berne countries without any adverse effect on our author dealings. Nevertheless, in order to preserve the present publisher-author relationships, we recommend coupling adherence to Berne with legislation which explicitly retains the existing laws which affect such relationships. We appreciate your continuing efforts in support of appropriate copyright legislation. Sincerely, Kaun Hunt Karen Hunter Vice President and Assistant to the Chairman 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, New York 10017 (212) 370-5520 - Int'l Telex 420643 Telecopier 212 916-1288 IMPRINTS Elsevier North-Holland Excerpta Medica Elsevier Sequoia Elsevier Applied Science MEPC Cuadra/Elsevier Elsevier International Bulletins I am writing to express my support for legislation that would make the United States an adherent to the Berne Copyright Convention. As a small publisher of high quality artbooks, Hudson Hills However, throughout my quarter-century in publishing, I have The benefits of Berne in terms of piracy and trade protection |