Screen Scraping Web Page

[mashimaro_]

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone bring to light whether it is OK to web scrape a web page that does not have a terms of service so that the content can be used within a monetized mobile app? What I mean by web scarpe is that when the app is loaded, it downloads the HTML of the page and then you scrape for certain components within the HTML. I've tried contacting the owner of the site, but he or she is not responding.

What do you guys think?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Gmotagi]

So you want to make money from someone elses hard work.

 

[mashimaro_]

So you want to make money from someone elses hard work.

Gmotagi, interesting insight.
The FFFFOUND! Windows phone app uses web scraping and it's monetize/sold. This site aggregates submissions from multiple users and is solely based upon creative submissions.

I would be interested in your response.

 

[SvanteH]

Difference between making an mobile application where it's known where the content come from and just ripping data from a database and calling it your own.
In FFFFOUND's case I think they made it quite clear that the images / content comes from FFFFOUND.

 

[mashimaro_]

Difference between making an mobile application where it's known where the content come from and just ripping data from a database and calling it your own.
In FFFFOUND's case I think they made it quite clear that the images / content comes from FFFFOUND.

I'm definitely thinking along the lines where the location of the content is known within the application. I guess my confusion lies on the thought that even though FFFFOUND uses the images/content from the FFFFOUND site, on what terms was the dev allowed to legally sell an app that potentially web scraped the entire site. Most apps I've seen just use 'public' RSS feeds, where the content can be controlled by the site owner and usually is a limited subset of the most recent content.
It's strange how the dev was able to pull off using the same name as FFFFOUND and sell it in marketplace. Maybe I'm missing something?