S. 1805 would add the phrase "monitoring news reporting programming" to the enumerated list of purposes for which a use is presumptively "fair". This list has always been regarded as illustrative, and never as exclusive. Already, a wide range of uses for such purposes as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research are presumed to be fair uses and not infringements of copyright. As discussed above, monitoring itself and, therefore, monitoring services make news programs available for exactly these purposes. Nevertheless, the amendment is required to clarify Congress' intention that news monitoring is entitled to the same protection as other purposes that further the public interest in access to and the dissemination and use of information. S. 1805 does not define "monitoring news reporting programming" because "news reporting" is a term that is well-understood and is already a purpose mentioned expressly in the first sentence of Section 107. "Monitoring, 11 as noted above, is the tracking of programming, and its scope would be described more fully in legislative history. Accompanying legislative history can also be used to describe and define the activities of monitoring services that Congress intends for courts to regard as fair uses. It would explain, for example, that just as individuals have the right to monitor, so, too, can they engage monitoring services to monitor news programming on their behalf. The legislative history could also be used to clarify the bounds of the fair use doctrine as applied to monitoring services. For example, the reproduction and sale of entire works of pure entertainment programming might not be generally regarded as fair. Furthermore, the legislative history could reaffirm that ultimate decisions on the application of the fair use doctrine and the factors set out in Section 107 to particular activities of monitors are to be made by the courts on a case-by-case basis. Both the practical and flexible nature of the fair use doctrine make it appropriate for Congress to amend Section 107 so that "monitoring news reporting programming" is a purpose for which the activities of news monitoring services should be regarded as fair. When Congress first codified the doctrine in 1976, it expressly recognized that fair use should be adapted to technological developments. In particular, the House Report accompanying the 1976 Copyright Act stated "there is no disposition to freeze the doctrine in the statute, especially in a time of rapid technological change." Since 1976, the demand for broadcast news monitoring services has grown rapidly as news reporting has become central to our lives, to our businesses and to the way we vote. Technological advances the VCR have made it possible for the public to monitor, review and respond to news programming wherever and whenever it may have been disseminated electronically. Monitoring services are the only practical means by which individuals can exercise their rights to see and respond to geographically removed, or yesterday's, news programming. S. 1805 is a narrowly drawn, workable solution to the threat now being posed to the public's right to monitor news programming. It does not expand the scope of the fair use doctrine. Nor does it alter the existing structure of the Copyright Act or the balance of rights between the public and the copyright owner. By enacting the amendment, Congress will recognize that there must be some mechanism for the American public to monitor the news. In this way, Congress can restore the constitutional balance of rights between the public and Senator DECONCINI. Thank you, Mr. Cohen. Mr. Warner. STATEMENT OF HARLAND W. WARNER, PRESIDENT, PUBLIC RELATIONS SOCIETY OF AMERICA, WASHINGTON, DC Mr. WARNER. Good morning, Mr. Chairman. I am Hal Warner, and I'm president-elect of the Public Relations Society of America. PRSA is the largest public relations professional association in the United States, with more than 15,000 members. Our membership is very diverse, representing the professionals within the public relations departments of many Fortune 500 companies as well as members of independent public relations counseling firms, associations, and nonprofit organizations. PRSA is pleased to have the opportunity to testify today in support of S. 1805. We urge Congress to act quickly to adopt this legislation. It would protect not only the rights of news monitoring services, but would also protect the rights of our clients to have access to news programming about them and of interest to them. Our members and our clients depend heavily on the news monitoring services. They rely on their internal public relations departments or on outside counseling firms to provide them with information about what is being said in the news about them and about the issues that are important to them. Clients and members use this information for a wide variety of purposes. For example, they use it to assess the success of various communications initiatives. We use the services to measure the success of our own video news releases and to check on how our advertisements are placed in the electronic media. I should note that with respect to both video news releases and commercials that we produce, we or our clients own the copyrights. We use monitors to track how the media are covering particular industry sectors. We need broadcast monitors to respond to news conferences of our clients' competitors, to assess media reaction to stories about clients, to formulate and critique market or product strategies, and just to keep an eye on the competition. Clients include many political figures and candidates. They rely on us to provide them with information about news reports concerning them, their constituencies, and their campaigns. We could not provide these services without news monitoring services. News monitoring services are indispensable to achieve this information for our clients quickly. One of the most important functions of news monitors is to let our clients know exactly-and I emphasize exactly what was said on news programs around the country so that we do not need to rely on second- or third-hand information. That makes our clients' ability to respond more accurate and more effective. The American public also benefits from clients' immediate access to nationwide news programming, especially in times of crisis when their ability to respond immediately is critical to protect lives. This is particularly true in crisis situations or in product safety cases, such as recalls or defective products. I can vouch for the importance of news monitors firsthand, as the product safety area is one in which I am personally involved. We rely on news monitoring services to tell us how effective our media efforts are in alerting the |