The first section below is AOL's argument that their contribution to the content is sufficient for copyright. The second tells you that you give away the farm if you allow your material to be put in their database.
>From the AOL "Terms of Service"
2.6 Content
(a) Proprietary Rights.
...All Content is copyrighted as a collective work under the U.S. Copyright laws, and AOL Inc.owns a copyright in the selection, coordination, arrangement and enhancement of such Content. Member may not modify, publish, transmit, participate in the transfer or sale, create derivative works, or in any way exploit, any of the Content, in whole or in part. If no specific restrictions are displayed, Member may make copies of portions of Content, including copyrighted material, trademarks, or other proprietary materials, provided that the copies are made only for Member's personal use ...
(b) Distribution/Uploading of Third Party Content.
... By submitting Content to any "Public Area" (Public Area(s) are those areas of the AOL Service that are generally accessible to other Members, such as chat rooms, message boards, and file uploads) You automatically grant, or warrant that the owner of such Content has expressly granted, AOL Inc. the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate and distribute the Content (in whole or part) worldwide and/or to incorporate it in other works in any form, media, or technologynowknown or hereafter developed for the full term of any copyrightthat may exist in such Content. You also permit any Member to access, view, store or reproduce the Content for that Member's personal use. Subject to this grant, the owner of Content placed on the AOL Service retains any and all rights which may exist in such Content.
Carl Drott
<drott[_at_]dunx1.ocs.drexel.edu>
Received on Fri Feb 17 1995 - 12:38:27 GMT
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