The Association of American Universities (AAU), American Council on Education (ACE), National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC), Association of Research Libraries (ARL), American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) and the American Library Association (ALA) (collectively "Educational Amici") submit this letter to the Court pursuant to the Advisory Committee Note to Circuit Rule 29-1, to express their support for the amicus brief submitted in the above captioned case by the Internet Commerce Coalition and the U.S. Internet Service Provider Association (the "Internet Coalitions Brief")..

Please accept for consideration the following statement, which responds briefly to three significant issues raised in the comments received by the PTO. This statement is intended to give the PTO a more complete and accurate record to consult in drafting its report to Congress and is submitted on behalf of the Association of American Universities (“AAU”), American Council on Education (“ACE”), National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (“NASULGC”), American Library Association (“ALA”), Association of Research Libraries (“ARL”), American Association of Law Libraries (“AALL”), Medical Library Association (“MLA”) and Special Libraries Association (“SLA”) (collectively, “Higher Education and Library Associations”)..

I write on behalf of the Association of American Universities (“AAU”), American Council on Education (“ACE”), National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (“NASULGC”), American Library Association (“ALA”), Association of Research Libraries (“ARL”), American Association of Law Libraries (“AALL”), Medical Library Association (“MLA”) and Special Libraries Association (“SLA”) in response to the Patent and Trademark Office’s December 13, 2002 Notice of Hearings and Request for Written Comments on Technological Protection Systems for Digitized Copyrighted Works (“N otice”), 67 Fed. Reg. 72920..

I write on behalf of the Association of American Universities, the American Council on Education, and the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (collectively, the “Higher Education Associations”) in response to the Copyright Office Notice of Inquiry, “Exemption to Prohibition on Circumvention of Copyright Systems for Access Control Technologies,” 67 Fed. Reg. 63578-582 (Oct. 15, 2002) (“2002 NOI”). Combined, the Higher Education Associations represent one of the largest groups of copyright users (and creators) in the nation, with a longstanding and critical interest in access to and use of copyrighted materials for scholarly research and education..