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April 7, 2005
Linking? Nein!
Posted by Alan Wexelblat
Under the depressing headline "GERMAN CT. RULES COPYRIGHT TRUMPS FREEDOM OF THE PRESS" Michael Geist notes a report by heise online on its first-round court defeat.
As I mentioned at the beginning of March, the site heise.de was sued over an article that contained a link to a site. The targeted site provided information and (two clicks later) downloads for software that allows consumers to copy DVDs. The Munich court found that heise had deliberately violated German copyright law by providing assistance - essentially contributory copyright infringement.
In a small glimmer of hope, the court did find that it was not permissible to block publication of the article entirely, which the music industry had wanted. Heise has not yet stated whether it will appeal.
Comments (6)
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1. Neo on April 7, 2005 8:59 PM writes...
It looks like "heise" is a proper name and therefore should be capitalized -- yet twice it is not capitalized in your article, and on one occasion, it's not capitalized despite being at the start of a sentence! Have the basic rules of English grammar suddenly been suspended here at Copyfight? Two instances in a row suggests we're not dealing with a mere typo here...
Permalink to Comment2. Dr. wex on April 7, 2005 10:21 PM writes...
The site refers to itself as "heise online" (no caps) both in its masthead and in the body of its articles. I am simply following the convention of the original.
Permalink to Comment3. t-dawg on April 8, 2005 12:02 AM writes...
did the case involve any determination that the offensive material was on the linked-to website at the time heise posted the link to it?
so many problems.
Permalink to Comment4. Donna Wentworth on April 8, 2005 10:51 AM writes...
Oops -- sorry, Alan -- I yielded to temptation and corrected to "Heise" before I saw your note.
Permalink to Comment5. Branko Collin on April 8, 2005 8:33 PM writes...
I think the small letter is merely based on aesthetical reasons for the logo. On their contact page at http://www.heise.de/kontakt/ they write Heise with a capital.
In the article you link to (published by Heise), the name is also capitalized. No e e cummings here.
Permalink to Comment6. Neo on April 9, 2005 11:51 AM writes...
And in initial position in a sentence it surely ought to be capitalized, if nowhere else. :)
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