Freedom and Innovation Revitalizing U.S. Entrepreneurship Act of 2007

Rep. Rick Boucher, Democrat of Virginia, and Rep. John Doolittle, Republican of California have introduced the Freedom and Innovation Revitalizing U.S. Entrepreneurship Act of 2007. This bill would make it easier for scholars to use copyrighted works while remaining compliant with copyright law.

Andrea Foster, writing in The Chronicle of Higher Education states:

Mr. Boucher, long a friend of academic librarians and technology companies, says copyright law gives content owners too much control over the works they own, to the detriment of innovation and research.

The legislation (HR 1201), known as the Freedom and Innovation Revitalizing U.S. Entrepreneurship Act of 2007, or Fair Use Act, would amend the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to allow librarians, archivists, and others to bypass copyright protections on digital content in certain circumstances.

Among the supporters of the bill are the American Library Association and the American Association of Law Libraries.