AUT: announce: [Fwd: Yahoo and GeoCities Have Gone Too Far!] (fwd)

["Harry M. Cleaver" <hmcleave@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 30 Jun 1999 11:33:01 -0500 (CDT)
From: Tamara Ford <tamara@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Reply-To: accion-zapatista@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To: az <accion-zapatista@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: announce: [Fwd: Yahoo and GeoCities Have Gone Too Far!] (fwd)


To any who haven't noticced, several activist sites are on Geocities.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 30 Jun 1999 08:42:16 -0500
From: Andrew Glikman <glik@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: ACTLabAnnounce <announce@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: announce: [Fwd: Yahoo and GeoCities Have Gone Too Far!]

Warn your friends on GeoCities: intellectual property theft at the hands
of Yahoo and subsidiaries....


> this text taken from:
>
> http://come.to/boycottyahoo
>
> ---BEGIN QUOTE---
>
> During June of 1999, the Terms of Service at all Yahoo properties (such as
> GeoCities) were changed to say the following:
>
> 8. CONTENT SUBMITTED TO YAHOO
>
> By submitting Content to any Yahoo property, you automatically grant, or
> warrant that the owner of such Content has expressly granted, Yahoo the
> royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive and fully sublicensable
> right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate,
> create derivative works from, distribute, perform and display such Content
> (in whole or part) worldwide and/or to incorporate it in other works in any
> form, media, or technology now known or later developed. You acknowledge
> that Yahoo does not pre-screen Content, but that Yahoo and its designees
> shall have the right (but not the obligation) in their sole discretion to
> refuse, edit, move or remove any Content that is publicly available via the
> Service. Without limiting the foregoing, Yahoo and its designees shall have
> the right to remove any Content that violates the TOS or is otherwise
> objectionable. You agree that you must evaluate, and bear all risks
> associated with, the use of any Content, including any reliance on the
> accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of such Content. In this regard, you
> acknowledge that you may not rely on any Content created by Yahoo or
> submitted to Yahoo, including without limitation information in Yahoo!
> Message Boards, Yahoo! Clubs, and in all other parts of the Service.
>
> (This is a direct quote from the Terms of Service page which you can find
> at: Yahoo! Terms of Service)
>
> In short, any content you have on GeoCities or any other of Yahoo's
> properties is theirs to use, ROYALTY-FREE, forever. Any images that you've
> made, any of your own copyrighted material you've made available, any
> pictures you've published, etc. belongs to them and they can do whatever
> they want with it, forever, in any medium "or technology now known or later
> developed."
>
> I bet you weren't aware that any work you've produced and shown to others
> via your GeoCities site now "belongs" to you AND Yahoo. Further, if you read
> closely you see that they also gave themselves the "fully sublicensable
> right and license to use" so they can take your property, sell it to others
> (giving you nothing), or even license it to your competitor AND NOT PAY YOU
> A DIME!
>
> What's worse, you can't even take your content off of GeoCities WITHOUT
> AGREEING TO THESE TERMS! If you're there already, they've got your material
> now, lock, stock and barrel!
>
> It is time to show these corporate clowns that there is a large, diverse
> internet outside of their "properties" and they can shove their various
> services into whichever oriface they may fit, now or in the future!
>
> Stop using Yahoo. Boycott them, and all of their properties. This includes
> Yahoo.com, GeoCities.com and Broadcast.com. Don't buy products from
> merchants at shopping.Yahoo.com and let them know why!
>
> Let Yahoo know that you won't tolerate this! Email copyright@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> and demand that they let you remove your content AND demand that they remove
> it from their databases AND demand that they won't use it without your
> express consent.
>
> Move your site to one of GeoCities' competitors (see list at left).
>
> Link to this page from your site (your new site, if you're moving from
> GeoCities) and let your visitors know that this issue is important to you as
> a webmaster, even if you don't use GeoCities yourself!
>
> If you're a user and you use a site which is located at GeoCities, let the
> owner of that site know that he or she has just signed over his or her
> entire work to these goons and they should leave the service at once!
>
> If you are a graphics professional, design logos which don't infringe on
> Yahoo's copyrights but will give viewers the message that they are under
> boycott (think of the ribbon campaign to defeat the CDA last year).
>
> If you are a reporter, or know one, or know how to get in touch with one,
> grab their ear and let them know this is going on.
>
> Most of all, get up and TAKE ACTION. Yahoo and their "properties" don't make
> any money if you don't use their services, so don't! Tell your friends and
> family, point them here so they can inform themselves!
>
> ---END QUOTE---



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