Friday, May 27, 2005 |
Deconstructing MLBlogs' Terms Of Service
1. Website OwnershipAs is usual, copyright owners grab as much as they think they can get away with, which is, everything. Who determines what an "unauthorized manner" is? Does that mean if Batgirl moves her blog to MLBlogs and they don't like Legovision -- or the Lego Group doesn't like her use of it -- they can kill the fun at any second? Of course it does. The precedent set by the now-useless fan forums and their bans on URL posting is not encouraging. Moving on:The Website is owned by MLB Advanced Media, L.P. ("MLBAM"). All materials distributed in the Website (the "Materials") are either owned by or licensed to MLBAM. MLBAM and its licensors retain all proprietary rights to the Materials. Except for downloading one copy of the Materials on any single computer for your personal, non-commercial home use, you must not reproduce, prepare derivative works based upon, distribute, perform or display the Materials without first obtaining the written permission of MLBAM. Materials must not be used in any unauthorized manner.
2. Message FeaturesWell, we know Fire Jim Tracy won't be signing up anytime soon; and neither Dodgerkid, nor for that matter, me --Participation. The Website may offer opportunities for you to transmit messages in connection with various features including vanity email, auctions and message boards ("Message Features"). You must use Message Features in a responsible manner, and are solely responsible for any content you transmit. You must not transmit any message ("Message") in connection with any Message Feature that: (i) imposes an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on the Website's infrastructure, or otherwise adversely affects, restricts or inhibits any other user from using and enjoying the Website; (ii) is threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, offensive, pornographic, profane, sexually explicit or indecent;
Update: This point needs further emphasis. MLB.com here uses boilerplate from their existing website ToS, and we have to believe that they mean the same thing therefore. Now, that website has a naughty word filter prohibiting any cuss words from appearing on the site, but it's so restrictive that Atlanta fans (or anyone else, for that matter) can't write "Bobby Cox" without it getting bleeped. I'm not kidding. What's obscene here isn't the occaisional naughty word; it's the attitude that says such stuff should be annihilated on contact.
(iii) constitutes or encourages conduct that would constitute a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability or otherwise violate any local, state, national or international law; (iv) violates, plagiarizes or infringes the rights of third parties including, without limitation, copyright, trademark, patent, rights of privacy or publicity or any other proprietary right;The right of publicity has lately been used as a way to shut down fantasy baseball vendors; one wonders what other complaints they might end up conjuring up.
(v) contains a virus or other harmful component; (vi) contains any information, software or other material of a commercial nature; (vii) contains advertising, promotions or commercial solicitations of any kind; (viii) constitutes or contains false or misleading indications of origin or statements of fact;Well, so much for Tommy Lasorda's blog!
But really, this looks like so much boilerplate left over from the old message boards; there's a lot of junk in here that isn't necessarily applicable to a blog. However, even though they restrict your right to use their materials, they make the following astonishing claim:
License. By transmitting any Message or Screen Name, you are granting MLBAM a perpetual, royalty-free, non-exclusive, and irrevocable right and license to reproduce, prepare derivative works based upon, distribute, perform or display such Message or Screen Name, in whole or in part, in any form, media or technology known or hereafter developed.Not even Google's terms of service (those applicable to Blogger) are that bad. It's rare when a for-pay service is appreciably worse than the free one on the Internet, but this is one such case.
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