Re: Publishing on WWW Re: Publishing on WWW>
>An excellent example of what's terribly wrong with the
>WWW and net these
>days. As a business owner, I have the right to market
>my business in the
>way I see fit. Even if someone believes that they are
>helping to market my
>business by using a proprietary logo or graphic of mine
>in their magazine or
>presentation, they need to get permission first.
>Here's one reason why. I
>may love the exposure in a newspaper of wide
>circulation, like USA Today,
>but I may have a marketing plan of only targeting
>elite
>businesspersons who like to spend top dollars at fine
>hotels and
>restaurants. I have the right to control how my
>property is used.
>
> It's quite simple, really, and terribly complicated at
>the same time. For
>example, Neal's post about using screen shots at a
>seminar he led at
>Internet World is probably "fair use" of the property
>but not a slam dunk
>because of the for-profit nature of Internet World.
>It's the stuff that
>pays my bills! <smile>. More specifics on Tuesday.
First, a small correction. I wasn't the one who used screen
shots at a seminar. That was someone else. I did attend
seminars in which screen shots were shown. (This ping-pong
style of posting turns into a game of "telephone" sometimes).
With apologies to list members who don't want to see this list
turned into "misc.legal" I will add my 2 cents.
Lew, do you have the * right to control* how your
(intellectual) property is used? Perhaps what you have is the
limited right to restrict the use of your property by others.
This is evident in trademark and copyright cases where the
plaintiff's rights are often only determined by the scope of
the violation.
Your USA TODAY example brings forth a metaphor to consider. If
a newspaper took a photo of your sign in the street and put it
on the front page (i.e. to announce new business activity in
the neighborhood) there is little you could do. If the
newspaper came into your store to secretly take pictures and
published them wihout your permission you would have some cause
for complaint.
SO, If USA TODAY copies your home page, did they take the
picture in the street, because your home page is publicly
available to everyone on the net, or did they come into your
store because they had to enter a URL to access your home page?
Neal S. Greenfield
Scully, Scott, Murphy & Presser
Garden City, N.Y.
516-742-4343
Greenfld@pipeline.com
Greenfld@ljextra.com