WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lawmakers in the House of Representatives are circulating a proposed bill that would prevent wholesale copying of school guides, news archives and other databases which do not enjoy copyright protection.

The proposed bill would provide a legal umbrella for publishers of factual information, such as courtroom decisions and professional directories, similar to the copyright laws that protect music, novels and other creative works.

The bill has not yet been introduced but the Judiciary Committee and the Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a joint hearing on the bill in the coming weeks, a Commerce Committee spokesman said.

Backers of the measure say it would allow database providers to protect themselves against those who simply cut and paste their databases and resell them, or make them available for free online.

Violators could be shut down and be forced to pay triple the damages they incurred.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and consumer advocates said they plan to write letters of protest soon, arguing that it could dramatically limit the public's access to information. Database providers can protect themselves through terms-of-service agreements with their customers, said Joe Rubin, director of congressional and public affairs at the Chamber.

"We think this is already dealt with under license and contract law, and there's no reason to extend beyond that," Rubin said.

Sometimes user agreements do not provide enough protection, said Keith Kupferschmid, a policy expert with the Software and Information Industry Association, which supports the bill.

In one instance, a Minnesota magazine publisher had no legal recourse when its entire directory of local schools was copied and redistributed. In other cases, pornographic Web site operators have copied real-estate listings and lawyers' directories to lure unwitting visitors, he said.

The law could help those who make information available for free online, said Kupferschmid. Reuters America, a unit of Reuters Group Plc RTR.L , is a member of the trade group.

"If database producers know they have some law to fall back on when someone steals their database, they'll be much more willing to get that information out there for free," he said. "Without that law, there's really nothing to protect them."

Mike Godwin, senior technology counsel at the nonprofit group Public Knowledge, said the bill would likely make information less freely available.

"Information, when not copyrighted, is something that can be shared. Once you start putting fences around information ... there's no freedom of inquiry," said Godwin, who frequently criticizes copyright-protection measures he deems overzealous.

"That doesn't make us smarter, it makes us dumber," he said.