Under current federal copyright law (17 U.S.C. 105), federal agencies cannot copyright and license their computer software. Officials at the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, and Defense, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National Institutes of Health state that a significant…

This report, prepared by the Office of Technological Assessment (OTA) in response to a request from the House Committee on the Judiciary, examines the rapid and complex technological changes and trends in computer software technologies and their possible effects on the nation's intellectual property system. The three policy issues identified are:…