To: Museum discussion list <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Re: New York Times Web Site
From: [log in to unmask](Robert A. Baron)
Cc: [log in to unmask]
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On Sep 18, 1996 14:59:10, [log in to unmask] wrote:


>Just for the hell of it, thought I'd mention that the NY Times site can
>be accessed free only from within the US.  Outside the US, access to
>their Web site is by paid subscription only.
>
>Other than bemoaning my continued state of NY Times deprivation, what
>intrigues me is the technological ability to do this, and their reasons
>for doing it... So much for borderless "cyberspace"...!

Don't worry, when there is reason to give away intellectual property for
free, it will be free.  As soon as the NYT gauges is market, there could
well be a charge.  When it first opened, the NYT site was password
controlled, but free.  In order to obtain a password you had to fill out a
short form which included your name and whether you were a NYTimes
subscriber.

As any museum visual resources curator knows, owners of copyrighted
intellectual properly in museums everyday determine whether to charge for
use of intellectual property or whether to allow it to be used for free.  I
see little difference here, except (hold onto your hat Amalyah) that much
of the intellectual property held by museums is out of copyright and it
would seem that they have no right to control its use, aside from
merchandising the photographs of objects.  Yet the right of owners to sell
rights to visual works in the public domain is well established in our
tradition, if not entirely consistent with international law.  Like the
tradition which gives archaeologists the right of first publication of
their finds, there is no legal foundation for the practice.  Here is my
question: what role should tradition play in the crafting of the laws
governing intellectual property?

In the United States the New York Times is rather ubiquitous, one can go to
any library or in New York, nearly any cafe or trash can and find a copy to
read.  In Europe, not so.  Consequently, charging individuals with country
codes in their domain names (il for Ms. Keshet), does not seem so much out
of the ordinary.
--

Robert A. Baron
Museum Computer Consultant
P.O. Box 93, Larchmont N.Y. 10538
[log in to unmask]



--

Robert A. Baron
Museum Computer Consultant
P.O. Box 93, Larchmont N.Y. 10538
[log in to unmask]