Changes to Terms and Conditions on ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Online
Last week ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ updated the terms governing how all ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ online services on bbc.co.uk can be used. ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ online services include the website at bbc.co.uk and any other services which allow users to access ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ content from our websites, such as ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ iPlayer, ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Embedded Media Player, ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Podcasts and ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ RSS Feeds.
We have also produced a set of Frequently Asked Questions to address the most common questions we receive about our online services.
³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ online services enable users to access ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ content across many kinds of devices (for instance, TVs, PCs, games consoles and handheld/ mobile devices etc). The updated terms apply to all of these devices. As new technologies emerge additional terms can easily be added.
It's clear that personal and business users have different needs from the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ online services. For instance, there are more restrictions on the commercial use of our content so we've decided to separate users into these two groups to help businesses understand what they can and can't do without confusing personal users. The new terms also help personal users understand their rights in using ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ online services, which are different to those of business users.
The ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ aims to be as open and transparent as it can, so we want the terms of use for bbc.co.uk to be clear and easily understandable. This is why the updated terms are drafted in plain English and try to explain in a straightforward way how the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ's online services can be used.
The terms for all ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ online services now also follow a more consistent form. They are divided into general terms of use that apply to all services and 'additional terms' which apply to how specific services are used. They are available to users at the direct point of access to each ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ online service as well as from one central page on bbc.co.uk . This makes them easier for users to navigate and find.
We want to continue to improve the site, and in the future intend to create a separate page for 'Educational Users' to set how ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ online services can be used for educational purposes.
The new updated terms are available here. Terms and conditions are always "work in progress" and when they are further updated I will be blogging again to explain any changes.
Conor O'Flaherty is Senior Lawyer, Business Development, ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Future Media & Technology
Comment number 1.
At 17th Feb 2011, Kurdman wrote:This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.
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Comment number 2.
At 17th Feb 2011, Paul Jakma wrote:Hi Conor,
These terms seem to be factually incorrect and/or wishful thinking on the part of some group within the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ. Particularly 2.9:
This is plainly wrong. People have a number of fair dealing rights which you simply can not take away by adding some clause on your website.
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Comment number 3.
At 9th Mar 2011, jfriday wrote:I think that by putting news on all devices make it an all around better thing for the world. With all the technologies being used today everyone always has some piece of technology in their hands. By making new accessible from all sorts of different ports news media is getting the upperhand and making it easier for the world to know about important issues going on in the world.
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