Original URL: https://www.theregister.com/1999/07/05/copyright_climb_down_at_yahoo/

Copyright climb down at Yahoo!

Now it's saying it doesn't own contribs' work after all

By Tim Richardson

Posted in On-Prem, 5th July 1999 11:54 GMT

Yahoo! has finally buckled to public pressure over its assertion that it owns the copyright of everything posted on its portal and altered its Terms of Service. In a clear case of enforced capitulation, Yahoo! has finally admitted that it "does not own" content. But it has left the door open for future changes to this policy. It said that Yahoo! does not own content "unless we specifically tell you otherwise before you submit it". The 50-word addendum reads: "Yahoo does not own content you submit, unless we specifically tell you otherwise before you submit it. You license the content to Yahoo as set forth below for the purpose of displaying and distributing such content on our network of properties and for the promotion and marketing of our services." The clarification of Yahoo's! Terms of Service is a victory for the Davids of the Net community against a Goliath of the Net Industry. By publicly backing down after defending its position so rigorously Yahoo! has shown that even one of the biggest Net names in the world isn't immune to people power. ®