Analysis of the Supreme Court ruling on the SONY Betamax case regarding videotaping television programs for home use discusses major implications for schools, including what constitutes private home use and time-shifting. Ways educators can make time-shifted videotapes legally and implications for microcomputers and copying computer programs are…

Defines copyright, and discusses what a copyright protects, the five basic rights of a copyright owner, and the rights of the software program owner. Also discussed are other forms of educational software protection including trademarks, trade secrets and patents, and software usage, copy protection, and possible future developments. (MBR)