On 11/14/05, Brandon Cordy b.touch@gmail.com wrote:
Hi, all. I'm a Wikipedia editor who uses the login "FuriousFreddy". There were some questions raised over the legality of the inclusion of data from the American Billboard music charts, since the company that owns Billboard (VNU Media) claims copyright and ownership of the chart information. I sent them an email several weeks ago...and they finally got back to answering it.
What does this mean for the Wikipedia music articles which include Billboard charts?
Absolutely nothing. The mere fact that album X reached position Y on the Billboard charts is a raw fact and cannot be copyrighted. Billboard, like so many other companies, likes to claim a broader scope of intellectual property rights than they are entitled to.
Kelly