From: Tim May <tcmay@got.net>
Date: Tue, 10 Nov 1998 02:18:24 +0800
To: cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
Subject: Re: Advertising Creepiness
In-Reply-To: <v04003a05b26c50a4abc7@[24.1.50.17]>
Message-ID: <v03130306b26cd8b81703@[209.66.101.228]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
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At 6:04 AM -0800 11/9/98, Declan McCullagh wrote:
>I didn't see Tim's original post, but I wouldn't be at all surprised to see
>such a right "emerge" in claims by media company lawyers. (Probably not the
>advertisers.)
>
>Something that came across our Reuters feed over the weekend is a lawsuit
>by the whitehouse.com folks -- they're pissed that a new version of
>Netscape has some "intelligent" guessing features that, when someone types
>in "whitehouse," automatically take 'em to whitehouse.gov.
>
>Which interferes with the rights of the whitehouse.com porn site, or so the
>argument goes.

Seems to me there are numerous variants and angles:

* If the adbuster is user-controlled, it's like handing a copy of "Time" to
a butler and saying "Please clip out the articles and throw away all the
ads."

* And "clipping services" do this and redistribute the results to clients,
perhaps with some "copyright remuneration" to the publisher (I just don't
know). The ads are obviously not retained.

* If a content supplier (Web page, magazine, etc.) has the power to stop
adbusters from removing ads, does it also have the power to stop font
changes? Or colors? Can a television commercial maker sue to stop viewers
from disabling color when viewing his commercial?

(Of course this wouldn't happen, for various logistical and common sense
reasons, but it seems to me analogous to where users disable dancing Java
applets....if disabling dancing Java applets is ruled a violation of the
advertiser's leasing of the original copyright, why not block anyone who
interferes with a television ad?)

* The "whitehouse.com" --> "whitehouse.gov" thing is just another skirmish
in the whole Namespace War. Corporations will try to get browsers and
search engines to turn spelling errors or perceived errors to their favor.
"intek.com" --> "intel.com"


I'm glad I'm not a lawyer.

--Tim May

Y2K: A good chance to reformat America's hard drive and empty the trash.
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
ComSec 3DES:   831-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA  | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
Licensed Ontologist         | black markets, collapse of governments.