Monday, July 18, 2005

Internet Archive sued over Wayback Machine

Boing Boing (article)


Last week Healthcare Advocates sued both the Harding Earley firm and the Internet Archive, saying the access to its old Web pages, stored in the Internet Archive's database, was unauthorized and illegal.


So, they are suing because something that they put up on the net, for everyone to see, was saved? That is like a company giving me a flyer for a service and then suing me for filing it away. This is stupid^max.

(btw, the guest host for Attack of the Show agreed with the company doing the suing... he was the worst guest host that AOTS has ever had.)

5 comments:

hockeyfrog said...

Two words: Intellectual Property.

I understand why they're peeved, however you can't expect to put stuff online and NOT have it gakked. I remember back in the day when I was running the FoF site that someone stole the BUTTONS (haha they were screwed up enough as it was, why would anyone want those?)... I was bent and wrote the author of the site that gakked them... and then put a script on my page that didn't allow for rightclicking. Mean, yes. But it did take me a long time to make those buttons. If they wanted them, I'd gladly make them for the person for a small fee. My site got changed soon after. Its the whole deal of someone spent time collecting and creating the data into a site. Yes, I know, still stupid. But I can't say I wouldn't be upset in their shoes.

Ookami Snow said...

If someone archived your webpages you would be mad? That makes no sense, you made the page for the whole world to see... it wasn't a secret place. They are not taking the code from the pages and stealing it, they are taking what was given to the internet and saving it for the world to see.

hockeyfrog said...

Yes, but if the information is outdated, incorrect, etc... I don't want that information up because of legal reasons if someone used it for whatever reason. In fact I WOULD be a little upset if my website was archived because it wasn't my best work and really wouldn't want people to see it. Thats a personal opinion of course, but still. It had a purpose to be online to start with, but there was a reason it also got taken down.

hockeyfrog said...

I was thinking about it while I was in the shower (hey at least I'm showering, yes?) and yes, they ARE stealing code and graphics and everything. They never ASKED people if they want their pages archived.

Luckily my websites haven't been archived since 2001 and the snapshots were the "under construction" pages. Am I mad someone stole my tag with my font family and size? No, its just an HTML tag. However if they had posted my front page like the Collegian did, I'd be a little upset, as I GAVE permission to the Collegian to do so at the time.

Like I said, the Wayback Machine (which I love the fact they don't give credit to where the name came from) is a great idea, I'm not saying it isn't. However they left themselves wide open for a lot of legal issues, which are starting to crop up.

Ookami Snow said...

If they do get in trouble, Google is dead. As well as anything else remotely related to technology.

I am not saying that you would like for them to have your webpage, but I am saying that them having it is not illegal, or even morally wrong. And by no means a ground for suit.

Let's not get to thinking that copyright is the end all of everything ever made.