Linking to other sites

[John]

See this

http://maps.google.com/support/bin/static.py?page=ts.cs&ts=1342531

[SleeperN06]

See this

http://maps.google.com/support/bin/static.py?page=ts.cs&ts=1342531

Thanks but I have no idea what all that means.

All uses of Google Maps and Google Earth and its Content must provide attribution to Google and our suppliers. Google does not approve of any use of Content without proper attribution. Depending on the region, the Content provider may be Google alone or Google and one or more 3rd party providers.
Requirements:
•   Attribute Google (e.g. © 2011 Google) and third-party suppliers (e.g. © 2011 Tele Atlas)
•   Make attribution readable to the average reader or viewer (e.g. avoid micro-sized letters)
•   For Print: Display attribution within or immediately adjacent to the visual
•   For Online: Attribution is automatically added within the API and cannot not obscured.
•   For TV/Video: Display attribution the entire duration the Content is shown, only showing attribution briefly at the start, end, or credits is not allowed
Where to Find the Attribution:
•   Attribution is in the bottom right of Google Maps and in the bottom center of Google Earth
•   Please note suppliers of Content can change between zoom levels as well as among regions
Additional Information:
•   Attribution is in the bottom right of Google Maps and in the bottom center of Google Earth
•   For screenshots, the Google or or Google Maps logo is not required but attribution must always be present. However, the reverse is not allowed - only including Google logo is not proper attribution, particularly when 3rd-party suppliers were used for the Content.
•   Google logos cannot be used in-line (e.g. "These maps from [Google logo].")

[Ian MacMillan]

Means any Gmaps images have to have that little copyright lettering on the bottom saying where the image came from like Google Eye, Maine DOT GIS, NH Department of Resources GIS, etc.

[pnolan48]

Looks like an ordinary copyright protection message to me. I'm not sure (and don't feel like researching) when the courts decided that, absent of ordinary actions to enforce a copyright or brand mark, they lapse into common use. I believe it was about 1907, and involved either aspirin or band-aid, both of which lapsed.

For on-line or video use, the images usually include either a watermark or an attribution. But there is so much "archival" material out there that is not always the case. It's a reminder for print material ("What does print mean, grandpa?" asks the thumb-twiddling generation).

If a major motion picture company uses this protected material, and only gives credits at the fast-moving end credits, well after the "Second Location Driver" and "Assistant to the Assistant Producer" are given credits, well, that's overlooked in a heartbeat.

Just my wandering thoughts, since I'm not involved in it any longer.