- From: Miles Sabin <miles@milessabin.com>
- Date: Thu, 29 Aug 2002 19:35:54 +0100
- To: www-tag@w3.org
Joseph Reagle wrote, > Bullard, Claude L (Len) wrote: > > A hypertext link is a control with a dereference > > semantic. > > And the policy to determine what is returned after dereferencing is a > service decision based on such things as the referrer log, > authentication, and such. The mechanism itself is not the problem, as > some erringly think. Encouraging the public, or legal community, to > understand that is a win-win for everyone. IANAL, but I wonder if it can possibly be as simple and jurisdictional- neutral as that. The mechanism essentially involves the use of URIs, and URIs in many cases embed trademarks. Existing law in many parts of the world protects trademark holders and regulates the use of trademarks by third parties (more than that, it often forces trademark holders to vigorously assert their rights on pain of loosing them, cp. hoover/Hoover). So, does the use of a URI as a link qualify as a use of an embedded trademarked term? And if it does, does that imply that the trademark holder can (or must?) use their trademark rights to restrict the use of the URI? I don't know what the answers to those questions are, but I'm sure that they aren't architectural questions, for all that they have technical impact. Cheers, Miles
Received on Thursday, 29 August 2002 14:36:26 UTC