The old phonebook question...

[cannaman]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CT

Hi all, just me again, that guy that wants to 'borrow' information from the phonebook and not get sued...

To put it in exact terms: I am creating an online directory of businesses that sell a few particular things. I have contracted with a foreign freelance firm to provide this data. Now I cannot be sure where it came from, but the possibility is open that it came from YP.com.

Now, my understanding is the data in the phonebook (and YP.com???) is public information and can be republicized, including for business (for-profit) purposes. Example: I can legally advertise on my restaurant review website about 'Joe's restaurant' and post their address and phone number, which came from the phonebook, and I do not have to credit that book for providing it to me.
listings.

This is where it is tricky for me, as I need to use the listings from several (3) categories and I would like to maintain these results under these categories (a restaurant is always a restaurant!).

Now of course I can try to fib and say I didn't get my results from phonebook-A or whatnot, but my understanding is these companies purposely embed 'mistakes' in their books (or just online?) so they can scan someones directory and see if it was copied from them. The proof is undeniable.

Therefore, I think my best option is to take the data from them (my firm) completely, then scramble it up, remove all categories, and I then manually re-categorize every listing with my own header. But still, if I have only obtained 3 categories of data from the phonebook, then it is assumed I only have 3 to choose from when I rewrite the categories (meaning I have some implied forehand knowledge about the bounds of what I can name the categories, and that there are no outliers from unwanted categories, from the proprietary data of the phonebook).

Whats a simple man to do? Compare both YP and YB for every listing and remove the outlier? There are 10's of thousands of listings alltogether. I appreciate all sound advice on how online business directories are created without violating any copyright laws.

Cannaman IV

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? CT

Hi all, just me again, that guy that wants to 'borrow' information from the phonebook and not get sued...

I am creating an online directory of businesses that sell a few particular things. I have contracted with a foreign freelance firm to provide this data. . . .Now, my understanding is the data in the phonebook (and YP.com???) is public information and can be republicized, including for business (for-profit) purposes. . . . This is where it is tricky for me, as I need to use the listings from several (3) categories and I would like to maintain these results under these categories (a restaurant is always a restaurant!). . . . .
Now of course I can try to fib and say I didn't get my results from phonebook-A or whatnot, but my understanding is these companies purposely embed 'mistakes' in their books (or just online?) so they can scan someones directory and see if it was copied from them. The proof is undeniable.

Therefore, I think my best option is to take the data from them (my firm) completely, then scramble it up, remove all categories, and I then manually re-categorize every listing with my own header. But still, if I have only obtained 3 categories of data from the phonebook, then it is assumed I only have 3 to choose from when I rewrite the categories (meaning I have some implied forehand knowledge about the bounds of what I can name the categories, and that there are no outliers from unwanted categories, from the proprietary data of the phonebook).

Whats a simple man to do? Compare both YP and YB for every listing and remove the outlier? There are 10's of thousands of listings alltogether. I appreciate all sound advice on how online business directories are created without violating any copyright laws.

Cannaman IV

You are back again? I don't see that you posted before.

If you are creating a directory of names, addresses and phone numbers, you can take the names, addresses and phone numbers from another's phone book or another's database. The names, addresses and phone numbers are facts - and facts are not copyrightable.

What can be copyrighted is the structure and organization of these facts. This creative and original expression of the facts is what can give a phone directory or a computer database copyright protection. This means you cannot copy off pages of a phone book or duplicate the information you find online and republish these as your own, without risk of infringing on creator rights.

It is not creative nor is it original to present names in alphabetical order. It is not creative nor is it original to separate the businesses into like-businesses (restaurants, pet stores, hardware stores). You can do that.

Phony names that many directory-creator's include in their directory listings are used to identify infringers. Infringers are those who take not just the facts displayed but rather copy the pages and republish them.

If you plan on using facts published by another, it is up to you to determine if the facts are legitimate. Comparing listings from various sources can work to identify fake listings. Taking data from several sources can protect you from claims of infringement. Shuffling up your presentation of the facts, creating new and original headings, adding illustrations or additional relevant facts or trivia to pages can help to make your directory copyrightable.

You may want to consult with an attorney in your area for a personal review of your business plans, to better ensure your operation is not at risk of a lawsuit.

Good luck.