Re: new T&Cs...
Those licencing terms are partly due to the way the internet works, and existing IP law was never written with the internet in mind. Everything we post over the internet is copied. Changing a piece of text from ASCII to Unicode is a modification of the original. So is using a different font to display it.
I am not holding my breath wating for the politicians to some up with some legal structure that reflects the practical needs of the the internet. Just getting this message in front of your eyes could involve 5 or 6 legally distinct entities copying and modifying my copyrighted material.
At least this T&C text tries to limit the blanket rights grab to what is necessary for the service to work. It doesn't do that good a job, but it tries.
At the end of the day, there are few lawyers who know how the technology works, and the chances are that none of them worked on those T&Cs. I do know a couple of specialised barristers who work on this sort of technical issue, and while in the English legal system a barrister isn't limited to court work, it's questionable whether in-house corporate legal teams are as competent as they pretend to their employers.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
