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Microsoft Proceeds
With Controversial Smart Tags
Microsoft has launched its Internet Explorer 6 preview with the
highly controversial Smart Tags included. Smart Tags are a
new feature that converts keywords into links on any publisher's,
individual's or writer's webpages. Legal experts have already
opined that this practice likely infringes on the copyrights of
authors, because an unauthorized derivative work is created
when the Smart Tags are deployed. Many content publishers are
also concerned about the fact that Microsoft is, in effect,
adding unauthorized links on their websites which readers may
think are part of the original content. Newspapers and magazines
are also concerned that these links will interfere with their
on-site advertising, by adding what amount to unauthorized ads
on webpages. Writers, feeling the flush of victory after the
Supreme Court's decision in their favor in the Tasini case,
now face another threat to their rights to control the
presentation of their work. Microsoft has failed to disclose
which Smart Tags will be added, but industry insiders are
speculating that large companies might pay Microsoft to add
links to their companies.
On its website, Microsoft shows an example of a news story on
MSNBC.com where the smart tags have converted the text for
"Honeywell" into a link (represented by a dashed underline)
that takes the user directly to Honeywell's website, to a stock
quote and to other information about the company. This means
that text on any webpage -- including news stories, articles,
book excerpts, online fiction, book reviews, resumes,
databases, etc. -- could be turned into a Smart Tag link without
the permission or knowledge of the creator of the content.
Supposedly, website publishers can include a meta tag in a
webpage that prevents the Smart Tags from being displayed.
Unfortunately for publishers, the meta tag must be placed
in the code of every single individual webpage on the website,
a burdensome process.
This is the meta tag:
<meta name="MSSmartTagsPreventParsing" content="TRUE">
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