PIU report and human rights: e-commerce Bill

[Nicholas Bohm]

At 12:09 PM 6/21/1999 +0100, Brian Gladman wrote:
>
>From: Nicholas Bohm <nbohm@ernest.net>
>To: <ukcrypto@maillist.ox.ac.uk>
>Sent: 21 June 1999 9:46 AM
>Subject: Re: PIU report and human rights: e-commerce Bill
>> At 08:06 AM 6/21/1999 +0100, lists@notatla.demon.co.uk wrote:
>> >matthew-l@itconsult.co.uk (Matthew Richardson):
>> At 08:06 AM 6/21/1999 +0100, lists@notatla.demon.co.uk wrote:
>> >matthew-l@itconsult.co.uk (Matthew Richardson):
>> >
>> >> An ISP seeking to claim copyright over someone's private email would
>> >> seem to present a significant number of issues!
>> >
>> >> I have tried searching for the text of the offending terms and
>> >> conditions, but have failed to locate them.  Does anyone have a URL?
>> >
>> >
>> >No, but you can see this on www.ibm.com....
>> >
>> >   IBM does not want to receive confidential or proprietary information
>> >   from you through our Web site. Please note that any information or
>> >   material sent to IBM will be deemed NOT to be confidential. By sending
>> >   IBM any information or material, you grant IBM an unrestricted,
>> >   irrevocable license to use, reproduce, display, perform, modify,
>> >   transmit and distribute those materials or information, and you also
>> >   agree that IBM is free to use any ideas, concepts, know-how or
>> >   techniques that you send us for any purpose. ....
>> >
>> >I dislike the 'irrevocable' in the above paragraph, given the
>> >revoke-for-no-reason provision of the postfix licence.
>>
>> It is at least much more reasonable than the alleged virgin.net terms.
>>
>
>Still not acceptable though.  For an ISP to claim free use of anything that
>they happen to display to the world when acting on behalf of a customer is
>scandalous.  It is quite common to see web pages offering software for which
>commercial use involves a license and a fee. The above terms would allow IBM
>to use this code for free.  Not an ISP I would want to do business with!

I don't think these are IBM's terms for acting as an ISP (if they were, I
would agree with you).  I think they are what IBM are saying to those who
communicate with them in response to an IBM web page.  In that context
their terms make better sense.

Regards,

Nicholas Bohm

Salkyns, Great Canfield,
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