Purpose of the Web

Phil Stripling in recent posts has asked where "it is written down" that the Web is for copying, distribution, etc. or that an implicit license exists in all material on the Web etc. This strikes me as very disingenuous. I do not know where it is written down that I may open magazines and read magazines sent to me, look at posters placed on walls or even watch broadcast programs on my television. I certainly never received explicit permission from ABC, etc., but I doubt very much if a court would say that watching TV without something 'written down' somewhere giving me permission is a violation of copyright. There is an implied license in broadcast television programs to display them on televisions (as it turns out there is also a license to videotape for personal use).

In order for ANYTHING placed on the Web, or made accessible via the Web to be used in any way on the Web, the server on which it resides must break into multiple parts, which are then sent in multiple copies to routers, hubs, etc. which copy, store and resend the pieces to the end-user's ISP which then sends those copies to the end-user's computer which copies the pieces to RAM at least, almost always to the monitor, and usually to the hard drive. Without being broken up, copied *many* times, changed, and reassembled, content on the Web is useless. This being the case, implied licenses covering these actions must exist.

Now, with respect to the size and surroundings in which the material is displayed, the proliferation of new and old browsers and the structure of HTML itself means that the way a page is displayed on two different computers, let alone browsers, is both different and beyond the control of the content provider. CNN's HTML code shows generally how it wants the page to display, but even resizing the window on your browser changes the formatting.

This, I believe, is the rub in our TotalNews discussion. Most of us understand and agree with the above rationale for implied licenses. Phil, however, appears to misunderstand the way browsers and the Web itself operate and, therefore, challenges the existence of these licenses.

Hopefully this will clarify the dispute and allow us to move on.

Jeff Norton

"I have sworn upon the altar of God eternal hostility against every form of tyranny over the mind of man."
  Thomas Jefferson's letter to Dr. Benjamin Rush, September 23, 1800.

Jeff Norton
<nortons[_at_]erols.com> Received on Mon Jun 09 1997 - 21:20:41 GMT