The DMCA was intended to provide stronger copyright protection for digitized data. Some folks, though, are calling it the McGyver of IP law: whatever you want to call copyrighted material suddenly becomes something you can use the DMCA, and its draconian tools, to protect.
So, for example, someone who gets a advanced sales at Wal-Mart and Best Buy, and publishes them on-line is now a target for DMCA enforcement.
After receiving legal threats from Best Buy, Staples, Target and Wal-Mart, FatWallet removed several user postings in its Hot Deals section.
Scooping sales circulars by several days, the postings, apparently from site users who had access to proprietary sales information, included lists of products, along with reduced prices, that will go on sale Nov. 29 — the day known as “Black Friday” for U.S. retailers because it kicks off the holiday buying season.
[…] “We don’t think sales prices can be copyrighted, or that the DMCA was meant for this type of thing,” said Storm. “But it would cost us a heck of a lot of money to be right.” He added that he decided to comply with the retailers’ requests “as a business decision.”
That’s right. It’s not a trade secrets violation, which is what it would have been considered a few short years ago. Now it’s a copyright violation. And since the DMCA uses a shoot-first-ask-questions-later club to let plaintiffs demand the material be taken down immediately, or otherwise insist an ISP shut down the site, it’s an easy way for companies to wield an incredible amount of power.
To make it even more interesting, it isn’t the owner of the site that has to be the person putting the data up. In FatWallet’s case, it’s site visitors/contribotors posting the price data there.
But think about it. These companies are claiming that price information is now copyrighted. Does that mean that if I mention that I saw a DVD at Best Buy for $18, but instead bought it at Amazon for $15, that Best Buy can use the DMCA to shut me down?
Sure looks that way to me. Joy.
(via BoingBoing)
and it kills me that they want to stop people from learning about the sale and actually going to the store.
well duh. fine. i won’t go the your store.
*wanders off muttering something about noses and spite…*
Actually, according to the article, they’re less concerned about consumers finding out about the prices than about competitors.
But, again, if someone is getting that information out that way, the competitors are already getting it anyhow.
I loved the quote from the Wal-Mart lawyer on NPR this afternoon complaining about this: “If people know something will go on sale in a week or two, they’ll put off buying it.” No kidding?
Yeah, I was like, Well, duh.
Heh. FatWallet is using the DMCA to sue the the folks who demanded that they take down the info.
I like it.
(via BoingBoing)
Heh. WalMart backs down.