-- Banging head aganst desk --

Yes it is violating copyright, and seems like a futile thing to do. Why copy and get no benefit, when you can make it better?

Why not get a business directory free and get paid every time someone clicks through to the listing. I have that on a site I run and it took me about an hour to get it up and running. Add your original content to it and you will make some money. If it is just a copy, you probably won't.

It really depends on how you do it. The directory only has a compilation copyright, so you can copy individual contact info, but you can't copy everything to put it in the same order.

What I would recommend is using that other directory to do research for your own directory, instead of just copying things.

Use the other directory to find the sites of the businesses. Copy the contact information from the "Contact Us" page on the site.

It's more work, but it is also more accurate and less fraught with copyright implications.

so you guys saying, even if i have the same content as long as it is listed differently then ill be fine?

Thanks again!

I'm reminded of the way mapmakers used to (and perhaps still do) keep track of who copied their maps. They would put in a fake street, or misspell a street name. That way, they would know if another map appeared with the same error, it was likely copied.

I would be careful in copying someone else's data unless you do your own due diligence in verifying the information there.

>copying business name and contact details from another online site.

Just to be clear, are you talking about
1) copying from another directory, or
2) copying from the target site that will be listed in your directory?

The first would be fraught with danger, the second not so much so.

Onya
Woz

One of my clients is a large business directory and believe me, we do put a *lot* of measures in place to detect theft of copy. Any offending sites are found then the lawyers and / or I get on the case using our *cough* respective skills. ;)

Risks aside, you are effectively promoting businesses for free when they (probably) paid the other site for the listing. Doesn't really make business sense. Of course if you are just looking for the content to monetise via adsense or affiliate advertising then ask yourself, does the web really need another Spamsense directory?

In terms of SEO, just contact details won't really be sufficient content to rank for any significant search terms and if you copy any additional content it will just be duplicated and won't get you anywhere fast.

However, if you are planning a niche directory as part of another site, then there probably won't be many issues with manually adding some listings yourself, regardless of the source. Its more likely that automating the process or copying on a large scale that will get you in trouble - a few listings here and there won't really bother anyone.

When I setup a directory of my own (years and years ago), I went through some Yahoo categories and lifted the URLs. Not a big deal because I wrote my own descriptions and hand selected the entries. But had I scraped the lot and published them like for like then there would be an issue.

MG

thank you guys for valuable inputs. The reason i asked this is, i was really uncertain if somebody can copyright a businessname and contact information. :)

No, im not going to copy all their contents but may take 60-70% from them. I will verify all the infos to make sure ill not step into booby traps. :lol:

thanks!

And what if he put 3000 business or so out of 10,000 and add a few extra features that are not present on the origional directory? Is there anything wrong with that still? Just curious!

No, im not going to copy all their contents but may take 60-70% from them.

I sincerely hope after you put a few years into yours - someone returns the favor.

...ill be copying business name and contact details from another online site...

The information contained in business telephone directories becomes outdated at a rate of around 5 per cent per month.

Best make sure you're going to be offering visitors up-to-date information...

Syzygy

I was under the impression that no one could claim copyright on data... Although I don't like directories and similar outfits does not support them, how can one claim copyright about information that is freely available and who doesn't even belong to the original compiler.

I believe there was a case a few years ago about Yellow Pages vs Superpages, but I can't recall.

A good discussion of the subject in this Supreme Court case. They ruled that, at least in this particular case, a white-pages telephone directory does not meet the standard for copyright protection.

[law.cornell.edu...]

I was under the impression that no one could claim copyright on data...

As has been pointed out, and as is explored in some depth in jtara's link, it's not the facts that can be copyrighted, it's the presentation of them - the way they are compiled. The theory goes that if this is done in a sufficiently unique way then it is subject to copyright protection. Of course, and in practise, others may feel that one's own unique presentation of facts is not unique enough!

Be careful, it's murky out there...

Syzygy