12-21-96. NYP: "Global Agreement Reached To Widen Law On Copyright" On-Line Material: International law would specify that copyright protection includes the right to control the on-line distribution of copyrighted materials, as well as the right to prevent others from making unauthorized copies. "Fair use" -- the tradition of allowing individuals to make a limited number of copies for noncommercial purpose, or to use brief excerpts in news reports or artistic criticism -- would still apply in cyberspace. In a compromise meant to defuse one of the harshest criticisms of the treaty, negotiators agreed to delete language that would have treated even temporary copies of material downloaded from the Internet as possible violations of international copyright law. ----- WIP_out ---------- WIPO on the Web: http://www.wipo.org