Forum Moderators: martinibuster
Thanx in advance.
Realistically it doesn't seem like any manufacturer would complain about it, since you're advertising their product. But if you want to be on the safe side, one alternative would be to link to the manufacturer's page.
Any ideas where google stands on this?
[google.com...]
(look for the section called "Copyrighted Material")
and also see:
[google.com...]
You can't possibly copyright raw specifications, they're just statements of fact. If facts could be copyrighted, journalism as we know it would disappear.
What manufacturers might copyright is the way those specs are phrased and presented, so if all you're doing is pasting the specs directly onto your site then might get in trouble.
If you rearrange and rephrase those specs entirely in your own words, perhaps with your own standard template to make product comparisons easier, there's no way anyone can claim breach of copyright.
they're just statements of fact.
... you mean like the Da Vinci code? ;)
[edited by: Dilly at 9:50 am (utc) on Aug. 7, 2007]
The specs are probably protected by copyright. If you look at the bottom of the manufacturers webpage, there's probably a copyright notice.
The absence of a copyright notice does not indicate that something is not protected by copyright.
If you rearrange and rephrase those specs entirely in your own words, perhaps with your own standard template to make product comparisons easier, there's no way anyone can claim breach of copyright.
I know a few people who made similar arguments, unsuccessfully I might add, as their sites and AdSense accounts were being shut down.
---------
Tread carefully with product specifications. Companies develop product specs and then have the presentation of those specs reviewed from a legal perspective. Changing the specs could, in some circumstances, end up implying the product will do something it really can't do.
FarmBoy
You might want to visit the Copyright board - [webmasterworld.com...]
Even better, visit the site of the US Copyright Office. There's lots of information there - information that is accurate.
Whenever you visit a forum and ask questions about copyright, just remember you're going to sometimes get conflicting advice. There are always people, some call them leeches, who want to take the content of others and claim it as their own. These people will often tell you it's OK to do something because they want it to be true, not because it is.
FarmBoy
But if you're putting together a table or comparison chart of different laptops, then you'll almost certainly have to rearrange things enough that you'll be completely safe. In order for the comparison to be of any use, you'll be pulling together from different manufacturers and editing to ensure that terminology, measurement units, points covered, etc. are consistent across all models.
