-----Original Message----- From: Margot <mmhill@adiis.net> To: IAGEN-L@rootsweb.com <IAGEN-L@rootsweb.com> Date: Saturday, July 03, 1999 7:32 AM Subject: [IAGEN-L] FW: USGW-CC-L: Yahoo Caves In Thought that others should see this response from Yahoo Geocities ---------- From: Fred Smoot <dogtrot@well.com> To: USGENWEB-ALL-L@rootsweb.com Subject: USGW-CC-L: Yahoo Caves In Date: Thu, Jul 1, 1999, 1:27 AM Greetings, Carole Hammett, my Warren Co TN Co-host just sent this to me: ***** Excerpted from: http://www.wired.com/news/news/politics/story/20518.html "4:30 p.m. 30.Jun.99.PDT. In response to a boycott and criticism from outraged customers, Yahoo late Wednesday abandoned rules that had given it eternal ownership of all Geocities Web sites. "We're seeing how we can clarify our intentions, given the recent outcry," said Tim Brady, Yahoo vice president of production. "The new terms of service, which took effect 3 p.m. PST Wednesday after executives spent the morning huddling with lawyers, now stress that "Yahoo does not own content you submit..." "The company said that Yahoo will use customers' intellectual property only when displaying it on Web sites and for promotion and marketing. "Many Geocities homesteaders worried that Yahoo could take their Web pages and republish them -- even in another form, which the contract allowed, such as books or CD-ROMs. Customers still had the right to publish or distribute their intellectual property themselves. Experts say the changes are poorly drafted, but conclude that Yahoo has seriously constrained its ability to republish members' content. "The addition is a significant limitation on what they can do. They can still reproduce, publish, translate, but can only do that for certain purposes," said David Post, professor of law at Temple University. "If they took my Web site and printed it out and published it as a book, they can't do that on the basis of this license," said Post, who teaches intellectual property law. "That's exactly what Yahoo has said all along. "Clearly our intention is not to publish books," Brady said. "Hopefully, with the language we're looking at, it will be very clear to our users that that is not the case..." "If we took a snapshot of our business today, we could make paragraph eight [in the terms of service] more narrow," he said. "But we all know how quickly the Web moves and everything's in flux. We need the flexibility to adapt our services..." "Under the old terms of service, site owners had to give Yahoo a "royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive and fully sublicensable right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, perform and display such content" in any form or media." ==== Excerpted from: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ 8. CONTENT SUBMITTED TO YAHOO Yahoo does not own Content you submit, unless we specifically tell you otherwise before you submit it. You license the Content to Yahoo as set forth below for the purpose of displaying and distributing such Content on our network of properties and for the promotion and marketing of our services. By submitting Content to any Yahoo property, you automatically grant, or warrant that the owner of such Content has expressly granted, Yahoo the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive and fully sublicensable right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, perform and display such Content (in whole or part) worldwide and/or to incorporate it in other works in any form, media, or technology now known or later developed. You acknowledge that Yahoo does not pre-screen Content, but that Yahoo and its designees shall have the right (but not the obligation) in their sole discretion to refuse, edit, move or remove any Content that is publicly available via the Service. Without limiting the foregoing, Yahoo and its designees shall have the right to remove any Content that violates the TOS or is otherwise objectionable. You agree that you must evaluate, and bear all risks associated with, the use of any Content, including any reliance on the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of such Content. In this regard, you acknowledge that you may not rely on any Content created by Yahoo or submitted to Yahoo, including without limitation information in Yahoo! Message Boards, Yahoo! Clubs, and in all other parts of the Service. 9. INDEMNITY You agree to indemnify and hold Yahoo, and its subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, agents, co-branders or other partners, and employees, harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys' fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of your Content, your use of the Service, your connection to the Service, your violation of the TOS, or your violation of any rights of another.