September 26, 1985

Large companies, which buy everything from yellow pads to computers by the truckload, are tired of buying programs for their personal computers in twos and threes at near retail prices. In an effort to win volume discounts and gain more convenient purchasing arrangements, they are forcing major changes in the distribution of computer software. The companies, which might order hundreds of a particular program, such as Lotus's 1-2-3, are turning more to specialized mail order operations and to a new breed of company that supplies software in large volumes at discount prices. The large corporations are also, in some cases, forcing software producers to sell to them directly, which software companies had been reluctant to do for fear of offending the computer stores. Virtually all major software companies, including the leaders, the Lotus Development Corporation and the Microsoft Corporation, are now seeking ways to appease major corporate customers. Plans range from simple volume discounts to more comprehensive programs known as site licensing, which gives the corporate customer the right, for a specified fee, to copy and distribute copies of a program within the company.

A South African judge today ordered the police in Port Elizabeth to refrain from assaulting detainees held under the country's state-of-emergency decree. The decision represented the first judicial acknowledgement of police brutality and a victory for a 25-year-old district surgeon, Wendy Orr, who had campaigned against what she called systematic assaults on prisoners by the police. The developments also represented the most comprehensive indictment of police brutality since the declaration of a state of emergency in 36 districts on July 21. It offered a picture of unseen violence in police cells that complements that of the more public bloodshed of the nation's black townships during what has become a black uprising against white minority rule.

A picture caption yesterday with an article about the United Nations misidentified one speaker. He was Jacques Poos, Foreign Minister of Luxembourg, not Geoffrey Palmer, Deputy Prime Minister of New Zealand.

The General Foods Corporation, moving swiftly after getting a long-expected takeover bid said to be from the Philip Morris Companies, has invited some of the wealthiest concerns in the world to join in a secret bidding contest, insiders said yesterday. Bidding is expected to start at well over $5 billion with only a handful of companies rich enough to take part. Insiders said that Unilever N.V., the giant Dutch-British consumer products company, was among the first to be invited. Preliminary talks between General Foods and Unilever senior executives have already begun, insiders said. Kohlberg, Kravis, Roberts & Company, the New York investment house that specializes in taking companies private, was also asked to make a bid. Discussions with Kohlberg, Kravis are expected to start immediately, to be followed in quick succession by others as they are lined up.

France and Japan are the main targets of a new policy the United States is preparing to fight what it is calling predatory export practices of foreign governments, Administration officials said today. Discussing how the policy might be applied, one official offered the example of a French-speaking African country that decides to build a bridge or a power station and is looking for industrial country suppliers. Because of their linguistic and cultural ties, French exporters traditionally get the lion's share of such business. But now the United States Government will reach into its pockets to offer such easy credit terms, if an American supplier is selected, that the African Government would have a hard time refusing.