-- --Original Message-- --
From: Mark W. Farnham [mailto:mwf@(protected)]
Sent: Thursday, December 02, 2004 5:35 PM
To: Ethan.Post@(protected)
Subject: RE: Oracle experts are disgusted with SQL Server User Group
There is indeed a large body of doctrine and common law on fair use in not
for profit and educational uses and there are indeed different rules when
you start taking money for it.
For example, sing someone 's song at a recreational open mike at the village
common where no one is paying anything? No problem.
Sing someone 's song at an open mike in a bar where the bar is making money
selling drinks? The bar better be paying ASCAP or there WILL be trouble.
If everyone starts using "CopyLeft " then paid digest and abstracting sites
will run into a problem. But I think as a layman it will be very difficult
to restrict people from offering links to public sites (unless it is part of
an attempt at denial of service.) They are not in fact copying the material
if they just supply the link.
Whether any of the differences in fair use for non-profit purposes versus
use for profit apply in this case, I don 't know. I didn 't read their fine
print, but if they hung their hat on the service being provided as
essentially a clipping service it will likely be difficult to stop them
legally regardless of how we feel about the ethics.
I know I don 't plan to send them money, but possibly some folks want to know
an article is good before they bother reading it and they think these folks
can do it.
Regards,
mwf
However, I don 't see how you draw the conclusion that because someone
makes money they now have an obligation to do something they did not
have prior to making money...ie...free bloggers can post links without
asking, bloggers who charge must ask permission??? =20
They are not making money on the "sole " effort of others. There is
effort that goes into putting this information together as I stated in
previous post. Can you imagine the strain this would plain on the flow
of information?
