Q: Legality of web application displaying summarized news articles across range of news sites with sources cited.

A: While you've made transformative changes using your proprietary technology, there are legal considerations to be aware of. The act of scraping content from other websites can raise issues, especially if those sites have terms of service prohibiting such actions. Additionally, even though you are creating summaries, there may be copyright concerns if your summaries capture the essence or core of the original articles. Providing a hyperlink and citing the source does not necessarily exempt you from copyright infringement claims.

The concept of "fair use" in copyright law might apply, but it's a defense and is evaluated on a case-by-case basis. It's also crucial to consider potential trademark implications when referencing publishers. To navigate this complex legal terrain, it's wise to engage with legal counsel familiar with intellectual property and copyright law. Your proactive approach in seeking guidance is commendable.

A: Hello. Thank you for your question. Our patent law firm (www.bell-iplaw.com) handles AI applications and I would suggest you contact us about this. Your AI application is potentially novel and patentable. That is where the potential revenue and profit lies. You MAY have copyright claims to the summaries produced. These are considered "derivative works" but the original copyright holder would have the rights in the original work. Copyright can be complicated, but simply put, there are a couple of things that obviously make your potential copyright claim difficult. (1) the summary may be substantially the same as parts of the underlying work (2) you may be infringing on the original copyright ...FYI - this is NOT "fair use" which is construed very narrowly these days (3) you may not be the author since the summary is being created by an AI bot. Lastly, registration of all the many copyrighted works could result in massive costs, which would make the exercise commercially unviable. I believe that patent protection (providing a 20 year monopoly on your presumptively novel technology) is by far the best approach in this situation. Feel free to email us at abell@bell-iplaw.com. We are true experts in IP and are always happy to help. Good luck. Adam Bell. Bell IP Law. www.bell-iplaw.com.

A: A: Hello. Thank you for your question. Your AI application is potentially novel and patentable. That is where the potential revenue and profit lies. You MAY have copyright claims to the summaries produced. These are considered "derivative works" but the original copyright holder would have the rights in the original work. Copyright can be complicated, but simply put, there are a couple of things that obviously make your potential copyright claim difficult. (1) the summary may be substantially the same as parts of the underlying work (2) you may be infringing on the original copyright ...FYI - this is NOT "fair use" which is construed very narrowly these days (3) you may not be the author since the summary is being created by an AI bot. Lastly, registration of all the many copyrighted works could result in massive costs, which would make the exercise commercially unviable. I believe that patent protection (providing a 20 year monopoly on your presumptively novel technology) is by far the best approach in this situation. Feel free to contact us any time at the email shown in our profile.