Re: "Right to Link" In the News

On 09/19/2013 06:49 AM, Konstantinov Sergey wrote:
[ . . . ]
> Publishing hyperlink to a work definitely makes it available in a
> sense of WCT as it provides "a way that members of the public may
> access these works from a place and at a time individually chosen by
> them". In that sense linking is NOT the same as referring: when
> you're referring a work, you state its name and catalogue number;
> when you link it, you state WHERE to found it.

That doesn't follow at all.  Stating where to find something is just an 
alternate means of identifying that thing.  It does *not* automatically 
provide access.

If I tell you that my will is in safety deposit box #1047 in the vault 
of Bank of America, Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA USA, you may know 
exactly what document I mean and where it is but you certainly do *not* 
have access to it.

A URL literally identifies the *name* of a server and the *name* of a 
document relative to that server.  It has nothing to do with granting 
access rights.  If access is not authorized, a "401 Unauthorized" HTTP 
code should be returned.

David Booth

Received on Thursday, 19 September 2013 14:42:51 UTC