Can KMZ be coded?

[HY Wang]

Hi everyone,

I made a KMZ to share with my friends. But I don't want them to
disclose the KMZ with others. Even if I code KMZ, they can still use
"Save As" to take away the KMZ to others. Any suggestion? Thanks!

[barryhunter [KML Guru]]

If the contents can be displayed, they can be shared. You can jump
though all sorts of hoops to make it harder to copy content, but you
cant prevent it. (DRM efforts try with digital media, but someone
always bypass it)

Far better to inspire trust and responibilty in your users - you can
also use branding to help with this.

Or even NDAs?

[scottbrown5271]

I've spent a lot of time thinking about the ethical isssues involved
in using a free service for profit. I think the world is a better
place for things like Wikipedia, GPL, Google, et al. The culture of
Google Earth is one of trust and sharing with the rest of humanity.
While I am a conservative capitalist by nature, I recognize that if we
can begin to cooperate and collaborate in an open way, everyone will
benefit. With that said, I don't think the concept of proprietary
material fits the Google Earth model as it exists today. You should
consider anything you publish in KML to be part of the collective
knowledge of the planet and available to anyone who would like a copy.

To follow this from my capitalist side, Google gives away almost
everything they make for free. They are essentially an advertising
company, and they have recognized that creating good will (and doing
no evil!!) adds to their profits. Rather than trying to protect the
intellectual property contained in your KML file, maybe it would be
better to leverage the goodwill created by sharing it with anyone and
everyone. There is nothing stopping you from branding your KML file
as a form of advertising. You'll catch more flies with honey than you
will with vinegar.

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