[thelist] Illegal to link?

[M. Seyon]

Message from Stuart Young (3/31/2005 09:17 PM)

>This is something I feel very strongly about so I'll try not to rant!
>
>At our institution, the NZ copyright collective (copyright collecting
>agency)
>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_collective
>http://www.copyright.co.nz/
>http://www.copyright.org.nz/
>come and tell management that it is breaking copyright to deep-link.
>Then our library, academic development unit and learning technology
>units inform us staff in workshops and policies that it is breaking
>copyright to deep-link.
>
>I have often complained about this saying that it is:
>* not necessary - legal opinion is far from absolute that this is the
>case - many legal types disagree that deep-linking breaks copyright.
>* flying in the face of real world practice - the web was built on
>deep-links - how come Google are allowed to do it?
>* poor education practice - how on earth can we expect our students to
>follow instructions such as: go to this home page click this link,
>scroll down and click this link.
>* poor copyright practice - because it actually encourages the
>lecturers to copy the webpage or print it out and photocopy it - both of
>which also break copyright.

Stuart, interesting perspective. You know when you put it in that context 
it made me think. Perhaps the legal hardheads would understand it if we put 
it in terms they can understand.

Cite fair use. Dig out any legal text. Demonstrate that footnotes do not 
say "Find volume 2,351 of the law journal, turn to page 805, count 14 lines 
down. Read from the middle of that sentence to the end of the paragraph 
halfway down page 806."

Hyperlinks aren't photocopies. They're footnotes. "Photocopies" would be 
copying and pasting the content onto your site.


>I have also emailed the NZ copyright collecting agency several times
>asking them on what they base this decision and how come Google can do
>it. They have been unable to provide me any sort of coherent explanation
>and point blank refused to answer the Google question.
>
>Basically it is clear to me that the NZ copyright collecting agency are
>simply a front for the publishers who are clearly scared about the
>effect of all the free information online on the sales of their
>textbooks and so trying everything they can to stop teachers using the
>web and keep them using textbooks.

On an OT note, it's relieving to know that our country isn't the only one 
with a totally clueless copyright organisation.

regards.
-marc

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