CONTU, the Commission on New Technological Uses of Copyrighted Works, was established in 1974 by Congress, with directions to study computer-related copying issues. CONTU was part of Congress’ comprehensive review of copyright law prior to the 1976 passage of the landmark Copyright Act.
Originally intended to study computer-related issues, photocopying was tacked onto the mission in the implementing legislation. To sort out these two distinct missions, separate studies were commissioned: One to look at computer-related issues, and a second study to understand the effect of photocopying on the market.
The Commission’s final mandate, therefore, was twinned: to look at both computer-related issues in copyright (e.g., copyrightability of software) and photocopying for research and interlibrary lending. Consequently, CONTU continues today to live a dual existence: Its life in computer law, in which it serves as the underlying historical antecedent for the copyrightability of software, and its life in librarianship, where it has solidified guidance for interlibrary lending, essentially unchanged for forty years.
CONTU specifically excluded teaching uses, which were reviewed separately and resulted in the “Classroom Guidelines”. The result was the “Final Report”, published on July 31, 1978, with Chapter 3 dedicated to “Computers and Copyright”, and Chapter 4 dedicated to “Machine Reproduction – Photocopying”. Several studies were commissioned, four relating to photocopying in libraries; these were summarized in Appendix H.