Presentations at the June 9-10, 1976, meeting of the National Commission on New Technological Uses of Copyrighted Works (CONTU) concentrated on computer software protection. There were a panel discussion, a briefing from a General Services Administration spokesman, and a presentation by representatives of the educational community. The testimony and discussions covered definitions of computer software, copyrightability, advantages and disadvantages of copyrights, costs to users, present practices in software protection, taxation, computer abuse of proprietary rights, detection of theft, security of computer systems, federal government software programs, educational exemptions to copyright, compulsory licensing, and the point at which raw data become copyrightable. There was also testimony on information policy and the right to privacy, and there were two discussions about photocopying--one on the formation of guidelines for federal legislation and one on staff planning for research studies. (LS)
