Session 2

Copyright and the Internet

Software Platforms. Beginning with operating systems, computer functionality on networks depends on interactivity and compatibility of software. Consumers are accustomed to standardized windows, menus, and commands in the products, and new programs rely on being able to copy many of these features. Is this a copyright infringement? Most courts will recognize a greater need for consumer and market demand, and allow common user interfaces as a “method of operation” rather than proprietary work (see U.S. Supreme Court deadlocked decision in Lotus Dev. Corp. v. Borland )

Product Licensing. Courts have had mixed opinions on the enforceability of “shrink wrap” licenses for products bought off the shelf, mainly because the purchaser is not aware of the terms until after the product is purchased or used. If instead the program is downloaded from a web site, then the user has to first agree to the license provisions (see the sample for Macromedia under the Course Documents – Handouts).

Database Ownership. There has been debate in the cases on whether public information, such as telephone listings, can be protected under some sort of a license provision once it is reduced to a software database. In ProCD v. Zeidenberg, the Seventh Circuit held that a shrink-wrap license could be enforceable, and, even though the underlying directory information was not copyrightable, in the form created by ProCD it was a protectible work, and could not be uploaded to an Internet site by the defendant.

Web Searching. “Bots” are automatic computer programs used commonly on the web by search engines to gather data about the various pages, or specialized by consumers to seek certain shopping information for comparisons. A website Botspot.com (http://www.botspot.com/search/ ) actually acts as a central depository and index of various types of bots. A legal issue is whether these searches of web pages for information constitute a “trespass” of a website, or illegal gathering of potentially copyrighted information (see eBay v. Bidders Edge preliminary injunction). Some bots can search for “digital watermarks” on images or sound recordings imbedded by the copyright owners to trace when there is unauthorized use on web pages.

Media-Specific Licensing. With the ability to reduce any work or image to digital form, and then transmit it instantly worldwide or through a LAN, licensing agreements now provide for specific uses, and restrict use in other media. One of the premier image collections is maintained by Corbis, which both licenses images from copyright owners (photographers, museums, collections, artists), and then re-distributes them over the internet or CD-ROM sales (see licensing arrangements available at http://www.corbisimages.com/licensing.asp?#rf ) Another example of a media-specific license is at the FotoAsia site at http://www.fotoasia.com/Agreement.html