Postal code lookups on websites

“Canada Post — a failing, state-owned Crown Corporation — not only claims a copyright on the database of postal codes (a collection of facts, and not the sort of thing that usually attracts copyright). They also claim a trademark on the words ‘postal code,’ and have sent legal threats to websites that use the words factually, to describe actual postal codes.” (U.S. = zipcodes) [Cory Doctorow, BoingBoing; Eruci]

One Comment

  • They say he ‘appropriated’. What was the method and apparatus used to appropriate? Maybe that can also be copyrighted if it required as much skill and judgement as creating a postal code did.