That's Ridiculous

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That's Ridiculous

I know I am late to this controversy but I feel compelled to weigh in nonetheless.

A local New Yorker, whom I have never met, named William Bright started a web service called iPodSubwayMaps.com.

You can guess what the service does, but if your imagination is failing you today his service allows you to load subway maps onto your iPod Photo (not music only iPods).

I have never used the services as I don't have an iPod Photo, but I love the idea of it.

But astoundingly, the transit departments of New York and San Fransciso don't. They have sent threatening letters to William asking him to take down the maps because they violate their copyrights.

I am with Jeff Jarvis on this one. Governments shouldn't be able to copyright something that belongs to the people.

But my outrage is really focused on the transit departments. They should be all over anything that makes their customer's life easier. And clearly this service does that.

Shame on them.

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Recently, a much ballyhooed topic floating around on blogs is that of iPodSubwayMaps.com's use of maps of NYC and San Francisco subway systems. Fred Wilson calls the situation "ridiculous," and is right in pointing out that the service being provided... [Read More]

Tracked on Sep 28, 2005 2:01:52 PM

Posted September 27, 2005 in Venture Capital and Technology

Comments

Frightening. Also this week ...

National Security Agency have patented a method for working out a users exact location from their online presence. It seems that they intend to protect this patent from commercial competition from non-defense-related funtions. Maybe Dubya plans an internet advertising startup in '08. Is this how we will pay for Katrina?

Article here ...
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=46501

Posted by: David Gibbons | Sep 27, 2005 11:43:47 AM

You really have to wonder where the harm is here. The transit companies will say they're worried that their customers will get "old information" and that they are doing this to "protect" us.

The copyright fight in the digital world is truly getting to be the battle of the age, isn't it?

Posted by: scott partee | Sep 27, 2005 11:45:53 AM

government does something evil?

shocking.

next you'll tell me that the MTA wastes money and that liberal interest groups are destroying NYC by suing/protesting/disrupting anything that remotely looks like development or progress, such as cleaning up harlem (sorry "gentrifying" harlem and w'sburg etc).

how many times do you have to get mugged fred? how many times?

Posted by: hey | Sep 27, 2005 12:26:37 PM

Because, you know, the locations of subway stations are changing all the time, and you wouldn't want to have a map which is a week or two out of date.

</sarcasm>

Documents produced by the federal government cannot be copyrighted. However, this does not extend to documents produced by state or federal governments, nor does it extend to stuff produced by a third-party contractor even if all rights have been transferred to the federal government.

Posted by: Shivering Timbers | Sep 27, 2005 12:28:08 PM

You shouldn't be surprised by anything Government does; it usually is the most self serving beast you know. But whilst its typical that an bureaucracy values its rights and wants, over its customers needs, in reality the same can be said for any large organisation private or public. I mean, have you dealt with any of the phone companies recently?

Posted by: Richard (www.perceptric.com) | Sep 27, 2005 1:23:23 PM

Hear, hear!

Posted by: Jill | Sep 27, 2005 2:38:59 PM

The MTA is not, thankfully, the Govt. They are a mess, however, and this is just the latest example thereof.

I don't think Fred has been mugged. I was, in Albany. It was horrifying, and in a good neighborhood, far swankier than Williamsburg, whre I live now and have not been mugged, or Harlem, whre I have never been mugged either.

Tel me where you're gonna be, Hey, and I'll see to it that you get to share the experience.

Posted by: jackson | Sep 27, 2005 3:16:41 PM

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