Commercial Use: Please define!

[kristian]

Originally Posted by RawAlex

Okay, I have been looking through all sorts of websites with RSS feeds, and many of them say "can be used in blogs, but cannot be used for commercial purposes".

Now, would I be correct in saying that a blog, even with advertising, is NOT a commercial purpose because I am not reselling access (IE: access to the aggregator site would be free)?

I am trying to find if anyone has any legal background on this or something on point I could go and read.

Any ideas would be appreciated!

Alex

Hi Alex,

I have a lot of experience using feeds in blogs. I can't offer you legal advice but can share a few pointers and things I've picked up.

When it says commercial this usually applies to a site that contains any form of advertising. When borrowing feeds, explore the sites TOS and / or AUP, looking for any mention of syndication restrictions. You should also be prepared for people, webmasters, and lawyers accusing you of copyright infringement. Most people assume that when they see their content on your site, you've lifted the code or copy and pasted the words. They have no understanding of feeds, so will accuse you of theft and make all kinds of inane threats. Your host will then contact you and you'll have to explain it to them (because I'm betting they wont know too much about the legallity or technology either).

In terms of the law and ethics I am almost positive that you are free to borrow feeds if there is no restrictions posted on their website. However, you will run into dozens of headaches. When I first started, I got an email ever 3 or 4 days. I now have appx 4500 syndicated feeds for wordpress blogs and get an email every week or so.

I could tell you an easy work around but it's not something I practice myself and I wouldnt want to give ideas to anyone who might try. The best ways are to get permission (many webmasters or surfer webmasters are flattered when you ask), have people come to you with their feeds, read the accepted use policies on sites, or locate sites who expressly WANT you to use their feeds.