Some scholars warn that a federal court ruling on copyright infringement may increase costs and delay production of anthologies of readings for college students. Others say the ruling provides needed safeguards against the pirating of intellectual property. Increased care in obtaining reproduction permission is anticipated. (MSE)

A six-month-old court ruling requires teachers to seek permission to reproduce every piece of work in photocopied college course anthologies. The ruling has delayed production of the anthologies, increased their cost, left publishers and professors scrambling to deal with copyright permissions, and prompted more use of textbook and library…

Challenged by rising production costs, competition from computer software, and demands for better teaching, publishers, authors, and higher education officials are examining ways to improve textbooks. Publishers don't want to invest as much, students don't want to pay so much, and many faculty want to get back to good teaching. (MSE)