For Immediate Release:
August 30, 2001

Contact: 

Ken Sunshine, 212.691.2800 
Susan B. L'Ecuyer, 856.596.2221   

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Statement By NARM President Pamela Horovitz On The Copyright Office Report On The DMCA

      “The conclusions and recommendations of the Copyright Office, with respect to the ongoing issues of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), offer much which is encouraging and much which is of concern to both retailers and consumers.

      “First, we are pleased that the Copyright Office agrees with NARM’s view that the
first sale doctrine applies to lawfully downloaded digital copies.  We are also pleased that they recognized the need of the consumer to have a back-up copy of a digital file, and concur with their view that archival copies are not covered by the first sale doctrine.  However, we are troubled by their assertion that the first sale doctrine serves merely as a ‘limitation to the distribution right of copyright owners’ and it ‘is not an enforceable right from the standpoint of the owner of a copy.’  The Supreme Court has already held that the first sale doctrine does confer rights, including the right to resell where you want and at the price you want.

      “Second, their view that digital downloads do not constitute a public performance unless a contemporaneous performance takes place is consistent with NARM’s position that digital transmissions of music are either a product or a performance, but rarely both.

      “Third, while we applaud their recognition of such troubling issues as the practice of tethering lawful copies to specific hardware, and the preemption of contractual provisions
by End User License Agreements, we are disappointed that the Copyright Office has chosen not to make recommendations for either, and we respectfully disagree with their conclusion that the timing is ‘premature.’ 

      “We commend the Copyright Office for the diligence with which they have undertaken this challenging subject, and we look forward to continuing dialog with them.”

      NARM serves the music retailing community in the areas of advocacy, networking, information, education, and promotion.  The Association’s more than 1,000 members include retailers, wholesalers, distributors, and suppliers of products and services.