Tuesday 8 May 2007

LOC and THOMAS

Ars Technica reports that the Library of Congress has told a wiki author that he may not mention the LOC or THOMAS in his wiki marketing materials. The wiki, Washington Watch, had made the claim that "WashingtonWatch.com provides a more user-friendly and interactive way for the public to learn about legislation than the Library of Congress' THOMAS site. It's all about government transparency."
The LOC invoked Library of Congress Regulation 112, which says that "the use of the Library's name, explicitly or implicitly to endorse a product or service, or materials in any publication is prohibited, except as provided for in this Regulation." Ars Technica reports that for the LOC, the issue is that the wiki was critical of the Library's work in a way which endorsed the wiki author's work.

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