Information & Copyright Law

[Dennis7849]

ARIZONA

I want to start a online subscription biz. The info contained in these subscriptions originates from newspaper advertisements and advertisements from seller's websites.

There is a website that collects the advertisement information that I need and they share it online for free. I want to use the collected/shared information from this website as a part of the subscription info. The info from the website will be filtered, sorted, some things deleted and some things added.

Can the website that is collecting the advertisement information claim that there advertisement information is copyrighted by them? They are copying material from the newspaper.

 

[justalayman]

They are copying material from the newspaper.

material in a newspaper does enjoy copyright protections. If you copy somebody else that is copying (infringing) upon the original creators copyrights, then you too are an infringer.

Depending on the situation, you could be infringing on the other websites copyrights as well.

Now, if you are creating your own list of advertisements offered by others without actually copying their ads, then it is a different story.

 

[Dennis7849]

Facts, Creative Content & Original Works

Can an advertisement like "Fry's Foods has Peaches for $1.29 lb." be copyrighted? Is this a fact?

If someone copies "Fry's Foods has Peaches for $1.29 lb.", is this creative work or original?

 

[quincy]

If Fry's Foods has peaches for sale at $1.29 a pound, then that would be a fact. What copyright protects is the unique way the fact is expressed. Although technically "Fry's Foods has Peaches for $1.29 lb." would be an expression of a fact, it would be neither original nor creative enough on its own to be copyrightable. In addition, short phrases cannot (generally) be copyrighted.

That said, the presentation of the phrase in an advertisement could potentially be copyrighted. For example, if the short phrase has stylized letters, or the words form a bushel of peaches, this would be more than just a statement of fact and cross into a copyrightable expression of the fact.

And some short phrases can be trademarked.

Also, an original compilation of facts can be copyrightable. The selection, collection and assembly of pre-existing facts into a whole work can create a new and copyrightable work.

You would be wise not to take another's ad and copy it in its entirety if you wish to avoid the risk of your site attracting the attention of the advertisers from whom you are taking the information. Nor should you duplicate all of the facts from one source only. Take strictly facts that are presented and pull those facts to use to create a unique collection of your own ads for your site, and you should be on pretty safe legal ground from a copyright perspective.

I recommend, however, that you have your business plans personally reviewed by a legal professional prior to start-up, to make sure that what you are doing does not put you at an increased risk of any sort of lawsuit. There will always some risk, because people can sue for pretty much any reason at all whether a suit has merit or not, but you can eliminate most risk prior to publication if you have your business plans checked out and any problem areas revised, edited or deleted.

Good luck.

 

[Dennis7849]

Thanks & Referral

Thank you very much! Do you have a referral in the Phoenix area that would be low cost?

 

[Zigner]

Thank you very much! Do you have a referral in the Phoenix area that would be low cost?

Sorry - this is not a referral board.

Looking for an attorney? You can go to the home page at www.freeadvice.com and click on the Ask a Lawyer link (or, simply go to www.freeadvice.com/law-questions which is a direct link)

 

[quincy]

To add to Zigner's links, you can also find an attorney practicing in your area through the Arizona State Bar Association link: http://www.azbar.org.

Good luck with your online subscription business.