directory?

[boxerdog]

can i just take business details from companies and add them to my directory, or do i have to ask them

thanks

 

[dw1973]

Can't think of a reason why you can't...that's all I did with mine!

 

[WigWam]

Bit of a strange legal area. Would advice you send them an email confirming. Also add lots of spam reducing plugins.

Wigwam

 

[dw1973]

Fair point Wigwam...I suppose it depends what details you are adding.

I was thinking along the lines of street addresses etc and I'd guess any business would want a link to their website.

 

[RSK3000]

I would have thought that a businesses name and address was public knowledge and in the public domain.

I'd email them, telling them they have a free listing and tell them about premium, paid-for, listings you are offering.

I would guess that one in a million will ask you to remove their listing, and in that case you just remove them.

 

[boxerdog]

thanks for the info chaps, think im going to start just adding them, god its going to take for ever

 

[Edwin]

I would have thought that so long as you're taking information that they are making public through their own website (e.g. business name, address, phone number) and are not copying anything "creative" (e.g. their sales pitch, their product/service description) then it should be fair use.

After all, they've published it for the world to see, and there's no copyright protection on an address (though in certain cases there can be on a collection of addresses i.e. a very specific kind of database where intellectual input has been required to collect and classify the data, which is why screen-scraping of other directory sites is a bad idea - that's where the IP lawyers would need to come in)

 

[newguy]

I would have thought that a businesses name and address was public knowledge and in the public domain.

I'd email them, telling them they have a free listing and tell them about premium, paid-for, listings you are offering.

I would guess that one in a million will ask you to remove their listing, and in that case you just remove them.

I think this is the right balance. I doubt anyne negative will occur if you just add them, but informing them may benefit you if it provides for future additional revenue streams (limited premium listings etc).

 

[Edwin]

I think this is the right balance. I doubt anyne negative will occur if you just add them, but informing them may benefit you if it provides for future additional revenue streams (limited premium listings etc).

If you do, make sure that the premium stuff comes over as "optional" i.e. that their free listing is safe no matter what. The thing pretty much guaranteed to anger people is a sense of being blackmailed into paying, so if that's not your intent (i.e. basic listings WILL be free) then be very careful to make that super-clear up front.