Yahoo RSS feed question?

copyright requirements for use?

[howiejs]

If you are using a RSS feed from Yahoo on your site - do you need to post a copyright notice that it is coming from yahoo? (since they are aggregating and it is not there content)?

[teaperson]

Assuming you're talking about the Yahoo! News RSS feeds, if you look at Yahoo's terms on their RSS page, they don't require you to post a copyright notice, but they do want you to say "Yahoo! News" or use their logo.

Yahoo! aggregates content, but they license it: they sign licensing agreements and pay AP, Reuters, and all the other providers. So they have a pretty good case for saying that their compilation is subject to copyright (in the same way that a local newspaper can still be copyright even if it includes wire service stories).

[Metaphorically]

From the Yahoo News Terms of Use:

What are the terms of use?
The feeds are provided free of charge for use by individuals and non-profit organizations for personal, non-commercial uses. We ask that you provide attribution to Yahoo! News in connection with your use of the feeds.

Here's what I don't get: if the use is personal (i.e. a page that only I read), then who reads the attribution? Me? When I read this before I thought it said "personal *or* non-commercial use", then the attribution statement makes more sense.

[LeoXIV]

okay,.. I think I am a lil bit (or even alot, indeed) confused!

so you can use Yahoo RSS on a webpage when you as the individual is the SOLE viewer?

[teaperson]

Yes, you certainly could use it on a page where you were the only user. I am not Yahoo's lawyer, but I would be really, really, really surprised if they would care about any non-commercial usage, even if other people used it than just yourself.

That would just be dumb to put out an RSS feed and not allow for non-commercial usage -- and Yahoo has not been dumb lately.