Want to stay current on e–commerce law? Sign up for Email Newsletter.
Downloadable iPod Transit Maps Draw Legal Fire
A privately run website that provides free downloadable iPod transit maps has come under fire from two of the transit authorities whose maps were made available. Both New York City’s MTA and San Francisco’s BART have sent cease and desist notices to William Bright, operator of iPodSubwayMaps.com, demanding that he refrain from offering their respective transit maps to be downloaded. The iPodSubwayMaps.com site currently contains transit maps for twenty other cities, including London, Paris and Toronto.
Mr. Bright responded to the cease and desist letters by removing the MTA and BART transit maps from his site. He has been attempting to create his own versions of these maps that do not offend any copyright that the MTA and BART may have, and is also attempting to negotiate a licence with them to obtain the right to download the original maps. The MTA has currently offered to provide a one-year licence for $500 U.S. Boston’s MBTA and Washington D.C.’s WMATA have both allowed Mr. Bright to download their transit maps for free.
For additional information, visit: