Some readers may be interested in the recent report from the National
Research Council titled "A Question of Balance: Private Rights and the Public Interest in Scientific And Technical Databases".  This report, which builds on earlier work such as the 1997 "Bits of Power" report from the NRC and complements the study "The Digital Dilemma:
Intellectual Property in the Information Age" (which deals primarily
with copyright). The report is, or shortly will be, available at www.nap.edu, and is also available in hardcopy for purchase from National Academies Press.  The report is also supplemented by a separate report of a workshop that was held as part of the development of "A Question of Balance", and my understanding is that the workshop report will be available ONLY online at <http://www.nap.edu/>. Clifford Lynch
Director, CNI