The increasing presence of electronic materials, databases, and networks in society's institutions raises a number of new questions related to copyrighted and intellectual property in cyberspace environments (e.g., How will the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law and practice be extended to electronic situations?). Such questions have attracted the attention of the Congress and federal government since at least 1976. The ease of transferring massive amounts of data electronically permits easy misuse. One group working to address some of these issues is the Working Group on Intellectual Property of the Information Policy Committee of the National Information Infrastructure Task Force, which considers the issues of copying for preservation as well as those of the creation of new digital products. It is possible, however, that electronic media and networks may offer solutions to problems associated with copyright in a print-based context, such as those involved in the distribution of scholarly publications. Societal practices may mitigate some of these problems as well. The public perception of fair use, as seen in videotaping and photocopying practices, is already at odds with copyright law, and current fair use provisions are virtually unenforceable except in blatant violations. Perhaps the law will change to conform to society's usage. (Contains 21 references.) (SLD)