For football fans stuck watching games at home, the NFL’s ominous copyright warning has become just as much of a pre-kickoff tradition as the singing of the Star-Spangled Banner. “This telecast is copyrighted by the NFL for the private use of our audience,” it warns. “Any other use of this telecast or any pictures, descriptions, or accounts of the game without the NFL’s consent is prohibited.”
While the league may see it as a way to dissuade people from infringing on their copyrights, an industry association with members including Google, Microsoft and Yahoo feels it and other such warnings are out of line. The Computer & Communications Industry Association filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday, alleging that many copyright warnings are overzealous and deceptive.
