COMPLEX COPYWRIGHT QUESTIONS GROW WITH WEB TECHNOLOGY

NEW YORK (AP) -- Does storing information from the World Wide Web on a computer when it is not connected to the Web violate any copyright laws?

Probably not, an attorney says, particularly since the creators of information typically think about how people use the material they distribute on the global data network.

Well-established doctrines of "fair use" and "implied license" in print and broadcast information would likely carry into cyberspace.

"Any Web site developer today is well aware of the existence of offline software and it would not be a stretch for courts to take that knowledge as an implied license to individuals using that software," said Gary Paranzino, an attorney who studies Internet issues at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, a New York law firm.

The distinction between using data online and offline is chiefly about where the data resides when it is seen.

A person reading a Web page while online downloads that information to a portion of their computer known as the memory cache. When they're done, or switch to another page, the cache is changed and, while the previous information may stay in for a little bit, usually emptied when they log off.

Someone reading Web information offline has downloaded it to the hard drive of their computer, where storage can be more permanent.

Developers of offline software draw parallels between their products and the videotape recorder. Paranzino said the same legal precedents that apply to home videotaping may be carried over to downloading of Web material.

More complex legal questions may develop over the copying of Web information that is done by some online access providers to provide faster downloading to their customers and also over the copying that is done by Web browsing software as a way to speed performance.

"Many of the new software programs are writing single or even multiple copies of information to users' hard drives, often without their knowledge," he said. "The copyright law will be tested by the issue of this copying."