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The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of copyright law as it relates to computer software. The computer industry terminology, case law, and software protection by patents and trade secret legislation are examined, and it is argued that the protection of ownership rights of computer software poses major challenges to existing U.S. copyright law--and to proposals to amend existing laws--due to the rapid development of sophisticated computer technology. Software case law is characterized as an evolving area that must be concerned with subtle distinctions and characterizations of elements of computer software. Two possible courses of legislative action are discussed. The first would allow the current state of copyright law to continue without significant amendment, thereby allowing the general body of copyright law to govern software issues. It is noted that with this approach, courts would use existing law to craft appropriate methods to resolve copyright disputes, and would determine the boundaries of software copyright protection. The second course of legislative action would be to develop a new body of law specifically designed to address software issues such as ownership and protection of intellectual property. It is argued that such an approach might create comprehensive legislation to deal with software copyright issues; however, this approach has not yet received support from either the Congress or industry. References are provided throughout the document. (DB)

American copyright law provides a means of stimulating intellectual development and protecting the ownership interests of the authors of copyrighted works. Over the years, U.S. copyright law has evolved in order to respond to societal and technological changes. Under the copyright statute certain uses of a copyrighted work are permitted under the doctrine of fair use. The criteria for the application of this doctrine are flexible and are applied on a case by case basis. New technologies such as compact disks, optical disks, computer storage devices, and digital audio technology (DAT) recording, provide challenges for U.S. copyright law. For example, DAT is capable of producing copies of copyrighted works in the privacy of the DAT owner's home. Thus, the question is whether DAT use is considered fair use or as copyright infringement. Although DAT equipment is not generally available to the public, its use and copyright law have been addressed in the 101st Congress as they relate to home recording. The most significant of the issues posed in the application of existing copyright law to DAT recording is that such recording may not fall within the fair use exception of the law, and, therefore, issues of infringement may arise with the sale and use of DAT. References are provided throughout the report. (DB)