Specification For HTML Meta Element with Name Value Rights
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Section 1: Introduction
This is the specification for the HTML meta element with the name attribute value set to “rights” and first published on the WHATWG wiki MetaExtensions page in . This is version 2.0.3 of this specification.
This is not the specification for the HTML meta element with the name attribute value set to “rights” and first published on the WHATWG wiki MetaExtensions page in . Except as otherwise specified, this specification is only about the value so published in . Non-normatively, it is noted that the publication of was probably made in error, because the name attribute value should have been different from the name attribute values for all other HTML meta elements.
HTML is the HyperText Markup Language, which is a commonly used, perhaps the most commonly used, non-natural language for pages hosted on the World Wide Web. HTML is generally written approximately in accordance with specifications that have been revised several times. Two of those HTML specifications are the HTML Living Standard (as updated and (One-Page Version treated here as if authoritative) (<https://html.spec.whatwg.org/>, as accessed and )) and HTML 5.1 (version of ) (<http://www.w3.org/TR/html51/single-page.html>, as accessed before and on ). The HTML Living Standard is maintained by the Web Hypertext Application Technology Working Group (WHATWG) and HTML 5.1 is maintained by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). Each of those HTML specifications specifies numerous elements and, in section 4.2.5 of each such HTML specification, one such element is the meta element. For that element, each of those HTML specifications specifies attributes including the name attribute, specifies some names that can be values for that attribute (limited to one such value per such attribute per such element), and provides, in section 4.2.5.2 of each such HTML specification, a means by which extensional or additional names may be proposed to be values for that attribute, each such proposal to include a link to a specification for that extensional or additional name. This specification may appropriately be linked to from such a proposal.
This specification, as published on this page and which, except as otherwise stated, is normative, shall also apply, insofar as compatible, to any specification of the HTML Living Standard or of HTML 5.1 other than those referenced above and of any version preceding or succeeding HTML 5.1; except that it shall not apply to any page authored before this specification was first published (the date of such first publication being stated below).
Sec. 1.1: Definitions and Construction
The words and phrases must, must not, required, shall, shall not, should, should not, recommended, may, and optional in this specification and regardless of capitalization are to be interpreted as described in RFC 2119 (also known as BCP 14).
A right, for purposes of this specification, is a ‘right granted or recognized in law’.
In this specification, if a string, including a null string and a non-null string with no visible or displaying characters, is rendered (including being displayed) with or surrounded by single quotation marks which are curved when a font in which this specification may be displayed has single quotation marks as both straight and curved or is rendered (including being displayed) with or surrounded by double quotation marks which are curved when a font in which this specification may be displayed has double quotation marks as both straight and curved, then the quotation marks that may thus be curved are, unless otherwise stated in this specification, not part of the string. Thus, generally, the string represented by “example” is only seven characters long, not nine.
Sec. 1.2: Problem Being Solved
This subsection is non-normative.
Law may provide one or more rights with respect to a page or a portion of such page. For such a right to exist it may need to be asserted, there may be a legal advantage in asserting such a right, or there may be a desire out of an abundance of caution in asserting such a right, all without necessarily asserting all such rights and without nullifying, voiding, denying, or limiting any such rights, and there may be a need in stating, advantage in stating, or desire to state related legal information.
Because notice may have to be in a form calculated to achieve the purpose of notice with respect to one or more intended potential recipients of such notice or one or more classes of intended potential recipients of such notice and because an HTML page is provided in at least two ways, at least as source code and as object code, there may be such a need, advantage, or desire so to assert in each way such page is provided. While there already are adequate means so to assert in object code, a means is needed so to assert in source code. If source code is to be directly perceived and interpreted by a human, there already is an adequate means so to assert in source code so as to be directly perceivable and possibly interpretable by a humman, that means being a comment. Because source code is intended to be perceived and interpreted by a user agent, such as a robot, without necessarily being directly perceived and possibly interpreted by a human, a means is needed so to assert in source code so as to be perceivable and possibly interpretable by a user agent.
A length limit cannot be imposed but, because a length can be too long for safe handling on the Internet or by a user agent, user agents and search engines need a way to handle long assertions that does not affect or has a minimal adverse effect on any right so asserted.
Sec. 2: Method
There may be an HTML meta element with the name attribute value set to “rights” and, if that element is present, it shall have the content attribute value set to a string that may identify one or more rights and that may state any related legal information and that string shall be composed of optional breaking spaces and no invisible characters other than breaking spaces. Non-normatively, it is noted that legal notice may fail in law if the notice is composed, in whole or in part, of computer language instead of a natural language required by law even if the computer language represents the natural language, for example, the character entity "©" (without quotation marks) for the copyright symbol may be legally inadequate where the copyright symbol is required by law.
A user agent or search engine shall process the content attribute value in its entirety, not at all, or by reference to the existence of the value and shall not truncate the value. The reference may be represented by a notice to a user that the value is present and how the user may attempt to perceive it.
Sec. 3: Security, History, and Backwards Compatibility
This section is non-normative except as otherwise stated.
Sec. 3.1: Security
Only one security implication has been identified with respect to this specification. That implication is with a long length of a value for such content attribute. It is unlikely that an author will create a page with such a value that is so long as to present to the Internet or another network or a device a danger but, in general, if such a page is transmitted or attempted to be transmitted then transmission will fail, thus alleviating the danger and if it is safely transmitted but cannot be safely handled for its full length by a user agent or search engine then a means for not handling the full length is provided herein.
Sec. 3.2: History
The original author and editor of this specification, except as otherwise stated, was Nick Levinson, who can be contacted through a link on this page.
A version of this specification was first published on https://wiki.whatwg.org/wiki/MetaExtensions at , at https://wiki.whatwg.org/index.php?title=MetaExtensions&oldid=3624 (with the differences page at https://wiki.whatwg.org/index.php?title=MetaExtensions&diff=3624&oldid=3540); its version was undesignated but, normatively, it was implicitly version 1 and should now be so known. Version 1 was revised at , at https://wiki.whatwg.org/index.php?title=MetaExtensions&oldid=3695 (with the page differences at https://wiki.whatwg.org/index.php?title=MetaExtensions&diff=3695&oldid=3626) into a version that was undesignated but, normatively, it was implicitly version 1.0.1 and should now be so known. Version 1.0.1 was revised at , at https://wiki.whatwg.org/index.php?title=MetaExtensions&oldid=3727 (with the page differences at https://wiki.whatwg.org/index.php?title=MetaExtensions&diff=3727&oldid=3705) into a version that was undesignated but, normatively, it was implicitly version 1.0.2 and should now be so known. Version 1.0.2 was revised at , at https://wiki.whatwg.org/index.php?title=MetaExtensions&oldid=3810 (with the page differences at https://wiki.whatwg.org/index.php?title=MetaExtensions&diff=3810&oldid=3732) into a version that was undesignated but, normatively, it was implicitly version 1.0.3 and should now be so known. Version 1.0.3 was revised on , at https://wiki.whatwg.org/index.php?title=MetaExtensions&oldid=3811 (with the page differences at https://wiki.whatwg.org/index.php?title=MetaExtensions&diff=3811&oldid=3810); its version was undesignated but, normatively, it was implicitly version 1.0.4 and should now be so known. Version 1.0.4 was revised on , at https://wiki.whatwg.org/index.php?title=MetaExtensions&oldid=4201 (with the page differences at https://wiki.whatwg.org/index.php?title=MetaExtensions&diff=4201&oldid=4129); its version was undesignated but, normatively, it was implicitly version 1.1 and should now be so known. Version 1.1 was revised on , at https://wiki.whatwg.org/index.php?title=MetaExtensions&oldid=4202 (with the page differences at https://wiki.whatwg.org/index.php?title=MetaExtensions&diff=4202&oldid=4201); its version was undesignated but, normatively, it was implicitly version 1.1.1 and should now be so known. Version 1.1.1 was revised on , at https://wiki.whatwg.org/index.php?title=MetaExtensions&oldid=4206 (with the page differences at https://wiki.whatwg.org/index.php?title=MetaExtensions&diff=4206&oldid=4202) into a version that was undesignated but, normatively, it was implicitly version 1.2 and should now be so known. Version 1.2 was revised on , at https://wiki.whatwg.org/index.php?title=MetaExtensions&oldid=4211 (with the page differences at https://wiki.whatwg.org/index.php?title=MetaExtensions&diff=4211&oldid=4208); its version was undesignated but, normatively, it was implicitly version 1.3 and should now be so known. Version 1.3 was revised on , at https://wiki.whatwg.org/index.php?title=MetaExtensions&oldid=6432 (with the page differences at https://wiki.whatwg.org/index.php?title=MetaExtensions&diff=6432&oldid=6431); its version was undesignated but, normatively, it was implicitly version 1.3.1 and should now be so known. Version 1.3.1 was revised on , at https://wiki.whatwg.org/index.php?title=MetaExtensions&oldid=6557 (with the page differences at https://wiki.whatwg.org/index.php?title=MetaExtensions&diff=6557&oldid=6519); its version was undesignated but, normatively, it was implicitly version 1.3.2 and should now be so known. Version 1.3.2 was revised into version 2, which was published on this page on . Version 2 was revised into version 2.0.1, published on . Version 2.0.1 was revised into version 2.0.2, published on . Version 2.0.2 was revised into this version, being published on .
This paragraph is only about the HTML meta element with the name attribute value set to “rights”, first published on the WHATWG wiki MetaExtensions page in , and deleted from the WHATWG wiki MetaExtensions page in . A version of that specification was first published on https://wiki.whatwg.org/wiki/MetaExtensions at , at https://wiki.whatwg.org/index.php?title=MetaExtensions&oldid=9240 (with the differences page at https://wiki.whatwg.org/index.php?title=MetaExtensions&diff=9240&oldid=9204); its version was undesignated but, normatively, it was implicitly version 1 and should now be so known. Version 1 was deleted at , at https://wiki.whatwg.org/index.php?title=MetaExtensions&oldid=9421 (with the differences page at https://wiki.whatwg.org/index.php?title=MetaExtensions&diff=9421&oldid=9420).
For the HTML meta element with the name attribute value set to “rights” as first so published in , this version (identified by number in section 1, above) was published on this page on .
Discussion on the WHATWG wiki MetaExtensions Talk page occurred at the topic or section Rights: Why Reversion.
Sec. 3.3: Backwards Compatibility
Backwards compatibility is intended. While version 1 supported the interpretation of multiple meta elements with the name attribute value set to “rights” so as to ignore all of the elements, version 2 treats the first such element as determinative and ignores only all others.
Sec. 4: Intellectual Property For This Specification
Sec. 4.1: Copyright Status
Insofar as lawful, with respect to the CC0 1.0 Universal legal tool (herein “CC0”) (summarized at https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) (both URLs as accessed ) of the Creative Commons Corporation, Nick Levinson, the original author and editor of this specification, has, upon first publication of this specification, hereby become the Affirmer under CC0 and hereby elected to apply CC0 to this specification, to publicly distribute this specification, and to make this specification available, all such electing as provided for in CC0, and hereby waived, abandoned, surrendered, granted, affirmed, offered, and disclaimed, all such waiving, abandoning, surrendering, granting, affirming, offering, and disclaiming being with respect to this specification and being as provided for in CC0.
Sec. 4.2: Trademarks, Endorsements, and Associations
“Creative Commons” is a trademark of Creative Commons Corporation; use of such trademark does not imply endorsement by or association with Creative Commons Corporation.
“CC0” is a trademark of Creative Commons Corporation; use of such trademark does not imply endorsement by or association with Creative Commons Corporation.
Sec. 4.3: Other Claims
Except as otherwise referenced, the original author and editor of this specification, Nick Levinson, is not aware of any claim by any other person or entity to intellectual property adversely affecting this specification.
Sec. 5: Section Titles Not Restrictive
Titles of sections, including subsections at all subsectional depths, are provided solely for convenience and do not restrict the meaning of the content of the respective sections.Titles of sections include headlines of sections.
