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Disgraceful behaviour by TfL

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yorkie

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Take a look at Geofftech's blog:


http://www.geofftech.co.uk/iblog/?p=235

An overpaid lawyer said:
Dear Geoff
This firm acts for Transport for London and Transport Trading Limited who are respectively the owner and licensee of the world-famous bar and circle device (“the Roundel”) and the Tube Map.
I would like to talk to you about your website www.geofftech.co.uk. Unfortunately, I was unable to trace a telephone number for you on the site, hence the email.
Please contact me at your earliest convenience (my direct line details are below).
I look forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards,
[name removed]
Solicitor
Commercial Department


Download those maps now! Feel free to distribute them!

I've saved them and if Geoff is forced to remove them, I am sure many people will upload them.

Please join in the fight, we won't let TfL win!


(BTW unrelated to the above: Help boycott TfL by not using Oyster and by getting your tickets from NR stations, preferably outside the Zones if you don't live in London. You can actually save a lot of money by doing this. I save £15 per trip, and ensure less money goes to TfL and more goes to a deserving cause!).
--- edited ---
If you want a laugh take a look at TfL's joke of a website http://www.onestopmapshop.co.uk/sections/lon_u.asp?id=7

£290.00 + VAT + Royalty charges for a map 8.5cm x 5.5cm :sign5:

This seems to be the reason for the clampdown in maps. They are terrified that people are going to download maps for free and print them for nothing. If they persecute people like us for daring to have maps online, then people may pay over £300 for them to print off a tiny little map for us, apparently. Yeah, right. Whatever! :sign5:

I think £3 may be a more suitable price, assuming the map was of decent quality. £300 is a total joke, they're having a laugh!

Where will this lead? Will underground maps at stations be put into booths that have a £5 entry fee, so tourists who don't know where they're going have to cough up to view the map? Will the free maps they give out be £100 each? Will they try to charge us for memorising the maps in our brains? They'd probably want to, if they could. :roll:
 
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Techniquest

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You make it sound like the most horrific thing to happen in years. Granted, that map is ridiculously expensive, and I've not looked at the link, but I still say your post sounds like the end of personal freedom and the beginning of Big Brother-style monitoring of everyone and everything. Which I don't think it is. To use the official roundel without permission on publically accessible sites/stock is, to my knowledge, illegal. A map without the logo would probably be less likely to cause problems, but with the logo on there it does look a lot like it is an official product of London Underground or TfL.

Sorry to be moaning yet again, but I do think that it is illegal to have that map on there. If permission had been sought, albeit with the condition the roundel logo was not used, then it might have been different. But it isn't, as far as I can see.

Left-wing are you yorkie? I have to wonder...
 

yorkie

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WSXFan said:
You make it sound like the most horrific thing to happen in years. Granted, that map is ridiculously expensive, and I've not looked at the link, but I still say your post sounds like the end of personal freedom and the beginning of Big Brother-style monitoring of everyone and everything. Which I don't think it is. To use the official roundel without permission on publically accessible sites/stock is, to my knowledge, illegal. A map without the logo would probably be less likely to cause problems, but with the logo on there it does look a lot like it is an official product of London Underground or TfL.

Sorry to be moaning yet again, but I do think that it is illegal to have that map on there. If permission had been sought, albeit with the condition the roundel logo was not used, then it might have been different. But it isn't, as far as I can see.
I think it's totally ridiculous, and very heavy handed. I don't think I'd use the term "horrific", but if you want to interpret it that way, I can't stop you! ;)

The maps should be public domain. The purpose of the maps should be to help people, not to make money!

He's not making money on that site, and the use of the maps really should constitute fair use.
WSXFan said:
Left-wing are you yorkie? I have to wonder...
Yep, how did you guess! :o ;)
 

Techniquest

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Can't imagine...

I wouldn't say horrific is over the top. In fact, it sounds just right IMO.

As for the maps being in the public domain, are they not accessible via the TfL or London Underground websites?

If I were in Geoff's boots (although I doubt I could contemplate basically taking the copyrighted map and putting it on my own website), I'd get in contact with them, offer to simply withdraw the logo off the map and see how that goes. If that's no good, I'd decide where to go then.

Still reckon TfL/LUL are in the right here.
 

ikar

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Originally Posted by An overpaid lawyer, with too much time and money on his hands who needs to get a life

Dear Geoff
This firm acts for Transport for London and Transport Trading Limited who are respectively the owner and licensee of the world-famous bar and circle device (“the Roundel”) and the Tube Map.
I would like to talk to you about your website www.geofftech.co.uk. Unfortunately, I was unable to trace a telephone number for you on the site, hence the email.
Please contact me at your earliest convenience (my direct line details are below).
I look forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards,
[name removed]
Solicitor
Commercial Department
------------------

Wonder what will happen next. Global corporations (and various other companies) will take over the world and start controling your every move. You can't do this you can't do that, and soon you'll be a slave, a slave of the people who just want to make profit, profit and profit. They don't care about people, but what is a world with no people. (rant over)

Save those maps, don't let them beat you.
 
T

Tom

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He has complied now, yorkie. Admittedly NTL was still caching the old version, and still is!
 

Jonno2055

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If I wanted a tube map i'd get a free one on the back of the tube leaflets. Good on geoff, this just sounds like a waist of money. The tube should be putting its money towards actually making its services better not paying out for stupid jumped up lawyers who screw a company with their fees.

Wonder how much that solicitor is costing the tube for this one little case?

Reminds me of Morrisons and the bloke whos house is falling down because they built a supermarket next to him and building a store room under his garden. In stead of settleing the case Morrisons decided to fight the case costing twice as much us just settleing would have.
 
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