Accessing public domain data
atul
(Querist) 12 September 2011
This query is : Resolved
What is the exact definition of public domain information.
Also are we allowed to copy information like address, phone number etc from another website and display it on some other website ?
Guest
(Expert) 12 September 2011
Public domain usually refers to ideas, information, and works that are "publicly available." But in the context of intellectual property law, which includes copyright, patents, and trademarks, public domain refers to works, ideas, and information which are intangible to private ownership and/or which are available for use by members of the public. In other words, the public domain in relation to copyright, or intellectual property more generally, it consists of works that are no longer in copyright term or were never protected by copyright law.
The underlying idea that is expressed or manifested in the creation of a work generally cannot be the subject of copyright law. Mathematical formulae will therefore generally form part of the public domain, to the extent that their expression in the form of software is not covered by copyright. Works created before the existence of copyright and patent laws also form part of the public domain.
So, I am of the opinion, you can make use of the information available on the public domain.
atul
(Querist) 12 September 2011
to be honest, that answer seemed a little too technical for me. Are you saying its allowed to copy data like business address, phone number etc from another site which has spent both effort and money in collecting the data of various businesses ?
Guest
(Expert) 13 September 2011
Dear Atul,
Probably you are in some misunderstanding about public domain. In public domain, none provides the webmaster's personal data. If he provides, that must not be a public domain. In the contact info, the webmaster, if he does not want his data to be copied, he just provides links or forms to contact for various types of problems through which the public can contact by giving their own particulars.
Can you you give any example, which you feel that is a public domain.
