I am amused about the small print of FreeFirstClass.com
(they advertise their 'services' on a sidebanner on 'FT Travel'). amused, because I am pretty sure that much (all?) information has already been posted on FlyerTalk before this publication went into print.

My limited understanding of copyright law is that a compilation of information can be copyrighted. What the site is attempting to protect is not the information posted there, but the presentation, format, style and arrangement, i.e. the value-added that the site seeks to provide. The site also almost certainly includes original writings, even if the information contained is well-known elsewhere.

This is correct. If it wasn't, then books based on other sources - such as biographies - could be copyrighted.

Also, consider the frequent flier information you see in newspapers. Is any of that news to you? Most of it isn't because you've read it elsewhere - somtimes in FT forums.

You may not "physically redistribute"? Yeah, I'd like to see that enforced. That's like an author putting that on the first page of his book and making it "illegal" to give the book as a gift. Keep dreaming.

I believe his newsletter is delivered in electronic format, hence the restriction on physical redistribution.

Why would anyone pay $14.95 for this piece of crud...

No, the author claimed that "You may not rebroadcast or redistribute, physically or electronically, this document"

emailing it apparently would be a violation. printing out a copy and showing it to your mom would also be a violation.

what a funny little man he is.

I want to "learn" air miles!

Is this site like the Onion for Frequent flier miles?

I forget, what was it my parents always said about if it looks to good to be true (ok, maybe this doesn't apply to FT )

[This message has been edited by chobby100 (edited Feb 13, 2004).]

For no charge, I will tell people the best place to get all this information along with some lively conversation!

There are extremely liberal exclusions for factual data and its formatting however, and I doubt you would ever get even the most frivolous of litigators take a pro-bono web page copyright case.

Where?

where

http://www.flyertalk.com

Nothing unusual here as copyright extends to the creative expression of an idea, not to the idea itself. This is what sometimes makes certain cases difficult to judge. Even minor deviation from the "original" idea can be said to be fair use. As noted, compillations, indexes and other such listings of already published ideas or works retain copyright in and of theirselves, but only for that compillation and not necessarily for the individual entries. However, the compiler of these sorts of things must also respect copyright of the material being used.

When we post on FT, we have agreed to share our thoughts and ideas with this community under the full knowledge it can be used elsewhere, and the only copyright protection is granted to FT itself as a compillation.

If you want to protect your own ideas when posting here, perhaps you should add: �shareholder, 2004. [The � symbol being found as an <<alt>> g entry.]

Here is the claim of the site:

"with our publication and help you can fly first class for free every time you fly"

Flyertalk does not teach that. With info on Flyertalk, you either have to earn miles to fly first class for free, so you are not flying first class every time you fly. Or you have to fly enough to become Executive Platinum on AA, which entails a lot of money. Hence, not free first class every time you fly.

Also, what is learned here is that you get first class only on a space available basis, and therefore sometimes you don't fly first class.

Do I think the site follows through on the promise? No. But it is promising a lot more than what we get here.