Legal Question

darthvapordarthvapor
edited January 2012 in General Discussion
So let's say their is a web site that does not have a mobile .based lay out. IS IT ILLEGAL TO CREATE ICONS THAT LINK TO CORRESPONING TABS FROM THEIR SITE?
Ex.
Say I really like the andromo site, and want to make the site easier to navigate from a mobile browser.
Could I create an app that had 6 WEB activities,
Name these activities:
Features,
Showcase,
MyProjects,
MyProfile,
Forums,
Support

And link the corresponding activities to the pages from the andromo site.

then publish it as an "unoficial andromo app".
Specifying also, that your app is WEB links. (Crediting the author)

If I only host the link, and use the "app" to access that link with a web viewer, so their onfo is un edited...

...
Is that legal?
If a search engine can target the links it thinks you will want to click on, what is the difference?

Comments

  • snufkinsnufkin
    Most, if not all websites have a contact email or phone number.  Contact the website owner first and ask permission. Simple. Whether its legal or not, this is just common courtesy.
  • darthvapordarthvapor
    yep. still, knowing the law is always nice.
  • srcorcoransrcorcoran
    So that makes sense about you should contact that website if you are basically making an app using everything from their site... But what if you just want to direct someone from your app to a website.. Say I develop an app about "softdrinks" and then I have an Icon in my app that points the user to the "Pepsi" home webpage.. Or I develop a baseball app and I have an icon that points to a "youtube video" showing Babe Ruth hitting.. Should I contact Pepsi asking to use their homepage link in my app???
  • darthvapordarthvapor
    like he said... or like the app I made to quickly reference this forum, my projects, my android market developer acct. my ad mob page...ect . should I be getting every service providers permission before I make a link to there web service?
  • colinadamscolinadams
    I think that you'd agree that a bit of common sense will go a long way here. Hyperlinking is well established - who doesn't want links to their website and content (of course the website's terms of use is the final word on that)?

    Like writing a term paper, if you try and trick your professor into thinking you wrote/researched/created something that you didn't, you're going to have a problem in school and in life. Proper attribution and reading a site's TOU is important. No way around that.

  • jmac1963jmac1963
    I have a created an app that raises many of the points made here. My first two apps were basically links so I felt fine about linking to them but for this one I wanted to use material from some of the sites I found. One webmaster responded promptly, asked what the app was about then silence. Another has not updated for five years - another had material used by permission of the BBC so I have to try them and see will they respond. The thing is  the first two of the sites are just collations of material from other places, images and text out of copyright so I think I would not break any laws by using it but the fact that someone went to the trouble of compiling it makes me think before I'd use it. So it's more of an ethical than a legal dilemma(and a certain amount of not wanting to rebuild the wheel if you get my drift). For now I am playing a waiting game to see will I get some responses - I think I have created a good app but it may never see the light of day(at least for the general public)
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