----- Original Message -----
From: "Wrigley, Ave" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Can I solicit your collective opinion on the following? I am thinking of
ways of making this code available without getting into licencing
issues.
Well since you asked ;)
I'm unsure, although i'm guessing that there aren't any actual lawyers here
anyway.
Isn't the problem that you are providing a means to copy/convert a specific
proprierty format (RealNetworks) that is expressly provided for a fixed
period of access (BBC 7 days listen again). In otherwords providing the
means to allow users to infringe copyright and circumnavigate copy
protection.
Whilst making it generic might side step specifics, personaly i'd be rather
concerned with releasing such an application in the current climate of
copyright infringment, pirating and distribution. As if I remember correctly
some of the P2P networks were recently found guilty or at least compicit
with providng a means to distribute illegal files, even though that was not
necessarily their intended purpose.
Simply pointing out that there are exisitng (commerical) products that
perform the same function doesn't free yourself from personal liability if
it ever got to that stage.
Its a shame, it would be a great tool but until media companies/owners
finally join the 21st century with regards to copyright and performance
rights it will always be somewhat of effiy subject.
I would have thought there would have been a BBC representive here who would
have commited specifically on the problem your facing (having written some
cool tech and wanting to release it but being unsure of the legal
implications), but I don't remember seeing any replies. Since you work at
ITN isn't it possible to tap into their sources, they must have a legal team
somewhere?
Ultimately I guess you'll have to ask yourself is it worth the potential
hassle releasing it here.
Ps. Calling it something else might also help ;-)
lol - reminds me of the Lentilla (578 million) clone problem in Douglas Adms
HHGTG.
Roughly paraphrased (and as such not as funny) as
Due to a malfunction with a cloning machine, it got out of sync and started
a new clone half way through completely the previous. To the extent that
turnging it off would be murder. This problem first tax the minds of cloning
engineers, then the priests and final of the lawyers who experientment
vainly with re-defining murder, re-evaluaitng it and final re-spelling it in
the hope that no-one noticed.
Noisecrime 2005
http://www.noisecrime.com
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