Copyright / ratings aggregator

[evenflow]

If I was to have a website that featured a product, for example:

Sony Television (model X1)

...is it legal for me to state on my website what "scores" other magazines and websites gave that product when they reviewed it?

That is, could I say on my website:

Product: Sony Television (model X1)
- rated 6/10 by website1.com
- rated 5/10 by website2.com
- rated 8/10 by Your Television magazine

...and so on? Are the reviews covered by copyright, or are they in the public domain as they are not "creative"?

Hope this is clear, TIA.

[HiRich]

(to help, as no-one has replied)
It is officially a grey area (so, actually, not to help). Strictly speaking, the ratings would be copyright. In fact there is just such a case beginning in the USA. Certain news sites ordered bloggers not to quote from their news stories, then gave them restrictions (e.g. two lines) on what they could quote. The case has a long way to run.

However, back in the real world, it is unlikely to be a problem. In various ways, it is accepted (many sites, advertisements, movie posters, etc.), commonly without approval. I'm not aware of this being tested in the UK courts. So:

• Stating "Geek Weekly - 5 stars" is unlikely to be a problem.
• Using a short quote is unlikely to be a problem, provided you do not misrepresent them (e.g. quoting "Works perfectly" when the actual quote was "Works perfectly, until the flames appeared"). However, quoting at length would be considered plagiarism, and they are more likely to get stroppy.
• Adding a link to the review is unlikely to be a problem
• Stealing or replicating the "Geek Weekly - 5 PS Gamepad" logo definitely breaches another area of copyright. Not particularly likely to be a huge problem, but perhaps better to seek permission.

So whilst perhaps technically illegal, it's probably worth considering taking a risk. If you were Curry's, you would probably ask for permission and artwork. If you were the manufacturer, I would ask for permission. If your site were a review site (sort of aggregating the work of the actual reviewers, and therefore freeloading off their hard work) they might well have a problem. But if you were a smaller company (like Plotoloss' AV outfit) I'd probably do it and wait for them to come calling.

Another tack to take is to speak to the manufacturers. They may well have permission from the magazine which extends to resellers.

[evenflow]

That's all very useful information, many thanks for taking the time to reply.