Legal Question in Technology Law in Illinois

i am a senior who is in the process of writing a book on casinos. My problem is copyright laws. When I visit a website to check facts such as size, phone number, etc. there is a notice saying any material from this site cannot be used in a commercial product (Ameristar.com). I thought facts could not be copywritten.


Asked on 9/04/09, 11:25 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Sarah Grosse Sarah Grosse, Esquire

You are correct that raw data is not copyrightable material. It is the arrangement of the facts (the way they are expressed, compiled, presented) which is the copyrightable element. Be sure not to copy the way the facts are presented, and you should be okay from a copyright law perspective. However, if the company is claiming proprietary rights to the facts themselves (it is data that they obtained through research and analysis), and prohibits commercial use of their facts, you still have a problem. One would need to look at your exact situation to give you a proper evaluation of how to proceed.

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Answered on 9/09/09, 11:43 am


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