iPod subway maps sparks copyright row

Web designer and blogger William Bright, 27, created the www.ipodsubwaymaps.com site which enabled people to download the maps.

After about 50,000 iPod owners downloaded the maps, San Francisco and New York City officials dispatched briefs to stop Bright.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) and the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) said they owned the copyright to the maps and have barred anyone from repackaging and redistributing them without permission.

Bright's defence was that he was earning no cash from the site, but pulled the maps anyway.

Perhaps realising that they had created a bit of a PR gaffe in hassling Bright, the authorities kindly offered him a one-year licence to distribute the maps for free, as long as he promised to update them regularly.

Unfortunately they wanted a fee of $500 which Bright thought a little steep.

BART said that it was coming up with its own version of subway maps for iPods and other portable devices.

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