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Describes steps that can be taken by all members of the campus community to prevent software piracy. Details the application of copyright law for works of software, then goes on to advocate the development and implementation of a software policy and software audits.

Library Exemption added to Software Rental Bill in U.S. Senate. In last month's issue, I briefly mentioned the existence of U.S. Senate Bill 198, The Computer Soft‐ware Rental Amendments Act of 1989, introduced on January 25 by Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah. This Bill proposed in its original language to restrict the ren‐tal, leasing, or lending of computer software. I am happy to report that the library community responded to this potential restriction on their right to lend materials in any form; an exemption for non‐profit libraries will be included in a new version of the Bill. I think that it is appropriate to examine this issue in more detail as it is of interest to all computer users in libraries.

This paper presents results from a study on Unauthorized Software Copying among a group of professional computer end users. The magnitude of the practice is measured. Attitudes of users towards the issue are identified.

The NCSU Digitized Document Transmission Project is a collaborative project between North Carolina State University Libraries, the National Agricultural Library and eleven land grant university libraries. The aim of the project is to explore the basic issues and questions involved in developing network‐based document delivery systems for library materials. NCSU Libraries, in partnership with the National Agricultural Library (NAL), is leading the research and demonstration project that is investigating the technical, procedural and administrative issues related to the electronic delivery of digitized research materials via the NSF net/Internet and campus telecommunications networks. Commercially available graphics‐capable, networked desktop computers, scanners and laser printers have been installed in participating institutions' interlibrary loan departments for the direct transmission and receipt of digitized materials. The system allows the digitized research materials to be transmitted directly to the researcher's workstation, whereupon the image can be readily imported into a graphics or wordprocessing program or an ASCII file can be created using an optical character recognition (OCR) program. Printed images are markedly superior to fax transmissions. A distinguishing feature of the system is its ability to import and deliver materials originating in electronic form, such as electronic journal articles or multimedia works.

The legal and economic value of intellectual property is under seige in much of the world. Creators of software find that, throughout much of the industrialized and Third World, their products are illegally copied and sold in breach of bilateral treaties and international protocols. Prosecutions of violators, though increasing in number, offer only a partial solution. Comparatively analyses how Western firms have responded to this issue, which transcends ethics, industrial management, data systems, profit and law. The analysis includes research into those nations which are often found to house a disproportionate share of violators of intellectual property rights.

The purpose of this paper is to explore, via an examination of a large number of games released in the quadrennial 2000 to 2003 for the five dominant video‐games platforms, the extent to which current product quality matches expectations.

All games software released between 2000 and 2003 for the five dominant video‐games platforms (Playstation2, Xbox, Gamecube, Gameboy Advance, and PC) were recorded and analysed for their perceived level of quality. The games were sorted with respect to country of origin, platform, publisher, genre, and time of release with the aim of assessing possible relationships with quality.

The results are disquieting in that they suggest a threat to the long‐term prosperity of the games industry, when quality as perceived by experienced gamers and reviewers is taken into consideration.

The main limitation of the study is that customer perceptions in the form of review scores may be biased as a means of gauging true software quality. Further research is required to develop more stringent means of assessment for the benefit of consumers and developers.

The findings represent a comprehensive reflection of the quality of software in today's games market.

This paper fills a sizeable gap in the area of quality analysis for interactive software, and provides an objective overview of the current state of the games market and is a useful source of information for researchers of quality assessment in the area of software and market analysis.

MINITELNET NOW AVAILABLE IN THE US. Over a decade ago, the French government introduced Minitel, an electronic gateway to phone numbers, banking services, news digests, travel information, and other online resources. Included in the installation cost of a telephone (250 Francs or $42), more than 5 million of the 9‐inch Minitel monitors have been distributed, with users logging in more than 60 million hours online. At first blush, Minitel is an overwhelming success, generating revenues in excess of 800 million Francs ($136 million) per year. Minitel has already crossed the Channel and invaded the United Kingdom and earlier this year became available in the U.S. with telecommunications software for the IBM PC and the Apple Macintosh. What drives Minitel's popularity? Bold headlines in both France and abroad state that the allure of sex may be the answer.

Software is protected by copyright law which means that the owner of the copyright holds exclusive rights to the reproduction and distribution of his or her work. How therefore does the Federation Against Software Theft (FAST) help, advise and control companies on use and misuse of software?

The case traces the genesis of NASSCOM and presents a decision situation faced by the new president who has to formulate a road map in the light of changed circumstances. NASSCOM has been an exemplary trade association. However, it faces challenges that can jeopardize the future if the industry. While the challenges do not have short term effect on the growing Indian IT-BPO industry, as the active industry ally NASSCOM's new leader has to ensure long term success of IT-BPO industry. The case can be best used to understand the IT industry dynamics through the eyes of an exemplary trade body and also understand how a trade association in emerging economies can play an important role to fill institutional voids.

Federal Government Has Proactive Role in Telecommunications. A new, private industry report sponsored by Telephone Engineer & Management and publisher Advanstar Communications predicts that the federal government will become more proactive in telecommunications planning and administration within the next few years and forecasts that the Clinton Administration will be the prime mover in this transition.