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by sneak 1846 days ago
W3W is a proprietary algorithm that has threatened people who published analyses of their algorithm. They got whatfreewords.org censored for publishing an independent open implementation.

It's also not well designed, as plurals and homophones are not accounted for.

Avoid using or promoting this system.
1 comments
jonatron 1846 days ago
The problem with the site you mentioned is that it was a clear cut case of copyright, trademark, and patent infringement all in one. I think the creator remained anonymous because they knew this.

I agree that it's not well designed and shouldn't be used.

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sneak 1846 days ago
What copyrighted work was it infringing upon?
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jonatron 1846 days ago
The word list
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sneak 1846 days ago
In the UK, my understanding is that "skill, labour, and judgment" have to be involved in the compilation of a list for it to be eligible for copyright.

TFA seems to suggest that this isn't such a list.

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jillesvangurp 1846 days ago
The article is not about the copyright lawsuit but about some issues related to using this for emergency services.

But if you take a look at the ripped off algorithm (google what free words, take a look at the html and the script block inside it), you'll see it includes an array of words with a specific order.

That list and the order the words are in are copyright protected. Copyright is about protecting the particular form of something. This a very specific word list in a very specific order (the indices matter). It's a clear cut case of those specific words in that specific order being protected under copyright. If you want to be compatible with w3w, you have to use that specific list.

If you write a book, poem, or article that's clearly a copyrightable work even if all of the words are commonly used ones. This not different in any meaningful way from the point of view of the law. The fact that the words in that order spell out nonsense is not relevant. Copying and using it in its entirety is not fair use and a clear infringement.

You could use the same algorithm with a different word list and then you'd merely be facing patent infringement here. I would not recommend building a business around such a thing until the patent expires.

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jonatron 1846 days ago
Someone must have put time (labour) into making the list. There's law specific to database copyright in the UK https://www.cooleygo.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-uk-data...
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