matters in a networked environment is related to copyright, and discussions at the February 1993 forum reflected this weighting. Both scenarios in this chapter are university-based because the university is a domain in which the clash among competing values and rights (e.g., the value of the free and easy availability of knowledge and information versus the right to receive compensation for one's intellectual work) is often played out most clearly.

The Copyright Act of 1976 (Public Law 94-553) protects "original works of authorship" that are "fixed in a tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated either directly or with the aid of a machine or device."⁴ The owner of a copyright has exclusive rights to (1) reproduce the copyrighted work; (2) prepare derivative works; (3) distribute copies to the public by rental, lease, or lending; (4) perform the work; and (5) display the work publicly.⁵ These and other provisions are delineated in the United States Code Annotated, Title 17, Sections 101-120.

Copyright protection clearly applies to certain types of electronic materials. The 1980 amendments to the Copyright Act of 1976 expressly protect computer programs as literary works. The original expression of information in databases can be copyrighted, though the facts themselves cannot, a position reinforced by the Supreme Court decision in Feist v. Rural Telephone (see Chapter 3). This case eliminated copyright protection for white pages telephone directories, and some believe that it has had a significant impact on the business and practices of on-line database providers.

Original and creative text can be copyrighted as well, although enforcing this protection can be onerous. An example raised by attorney Lance Rose in the November 1992 workshop is that long e-mail messages could probably be protected under copyright law, but for practical reasons (i.e., the legal costs) there may be no legal recourse for violations. Other original and creative intellectual creations whose status is ambiguous under current law include the "look and feel" of an on-line service and a short e-mail message created by one person but posted publicly by another.

For users and system operators, it can be difficult to identify

FRONT MATTER (R1-R12)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY (1-5)

1 THE NATURE OF ELECTRONIC NETWORKS (6-16)

2 NETWORKS AND SOCIETY (17-30)

3 LEGAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR ELECTRONIC NETWORKS (31-54)

4 FREE SPEECH (55-68)

5 ELECTRONIC VANDALISM (69-84)

6 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY INTERESTS (85-98)

7 PRIVACY (99-112)

8 COMMON THEMES (113-120)

A Network Technology (121-136)

B Workshop Schedule and Session Descriptions (137-141)

C Forum Statement of Purpose and Agenda (142-145)

D Keynote Speech: Networked Communities and the Laws of Cyberspace (146-157)

E Biographical Sketches (158-160)