This IntellectualProperty/FairUse page includes:

Relocated from CreditReports

BobTrower -- I really wonder if this constitutes 'fair use'. I think the information should either be cached non-publicly or really we should just link to the information.

hwo response: I also have reservations and have been discussing some of this with Joel over a protracted period of time. That being said:

  • It does come from a publically accessible web site, where it is provided for the purpose of soliciting Affiliates. It may well be my serious intent to become an Affiliate, rather than persist in a loosing proposition to develop a cometitive product. The mere fact that I do not truly know what my motives are, truly makes it difficult to assert that my intent is other than that which the publishing organization intended to satisfy.
  • Hiding it better strikes me as being even less ethical.
  • I am not aware of an existing definition of "Fair Use", suppported by a sufficient body of Precedents that I know how to assess the various Opinions swirling around this very controversial issue. While I appreciate that "Ignorance of the law is no excuse.", as a 'reasonable' man, I feel obliged to await direction from a recognized jurisdiction. In the mean time, I heartily expect to be relatively insignificant and immaterial in any uninformed and unintenional breeches, and to address any such errors in a timely manner, should they be brought to my attention by competent authorities.
  • ...

FairPlay - Digital rights: What MS could learn from Apple

MEDIA: What can you do with the digital content you "own"? It's a controversial question that both Microsoft and Apple must address. Here's what I think Steve Jobs could teach Steve Ballmer about the issue.

http://www.zdnet.com/anchordesk/stories/story/0,10738,2913625,00.html