When I had the idea on Weight Watchers, a wise old owl reminded me that WW has everything in their books and on their cards copyrighted.

Thus, one thing you need, is permission to turn their printed material into electronic.

This has become a HUGE issue of late, because WW sells a hell of a lot of books, point cards, water bottles, food, etc. They may make more from the stuff than they do from the weigh ins. Even publishing companies are waking up to the fact that they want to sell 10 million Harry Potter books, not share them freely and openly on the web. They want EVERYONE to BUY a copy.

That's the big beef with online music. They don't want you to share, the big guns don't get rich that way.

So, that's something to think about. The local gal may be completely enthused about your idea, but I can guarantee that the copyright holders of all the printed material will be less happy, especially if it starts costing the company money.

That was my problem with Weight Watchers. It was a "support group" with a business plan to make a profit. It was more about $7 a week, than really, really helping people.

Glen Austin