
Cloning another app? - chualyfn
Hi all,<p>I wanted to know how legal it is to literally clone another app. For example, if I havev an online platform that helps people compare different cameras and its already up and running - what stops someone from scraping all my data and making the exact same website, but just executing it better?<p>Do I have any legal grounds for this?
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jerianasmith
This will clearly shift a considerable measure from nation to nation, however
the essential thought is that you can't make a correct clone, yet you can make
a knock-off rendition.

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ParameterOne
in your question "Do I have any legal grounds for this?" Do you mean for or
against creating the clone?

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chualyfn
Against creating the clone. For example, if I have made my site - I have made
all the images, collected all the information. Someone scrapes it all - reuses
the image and displays the same information but has better developers than me,
can I take legal action?

Right now I'm looking for people to test my platform, but im worried it could
end up in wrong hands before i get big...

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ParameterOne
you can watermark the images to help with that. And you can use professional
beta testers to limit the worry during that stage. Over and above that I would
probably ask an intellectual property attorney about what other protections
are available because without protection you may have no basis for a suit.

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mattbgates
Facebook came at Snap with an offer. Snap refused. Facebook builds their own
Snap. Apparently, there is nothing illegal about that.

Microsoft created Hotmail and Live. Yahoo Mail. Then Gmail. While not exactly
the same, they are all email systems. Nothing illegal about it.

Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, and Slack all have a whole bunch of clones, and
while similar, there is usually the developers own twist added on to it.

There is nothing stopping anyone from scraping your data, though you can
certainly make it harder for them by adding your website into the data.
Doesn't hurt to add in, "Originally appeared on..." or "Original source
from..."

It might not stop someone from stealing your exact data, but it will make them
have to do some extra work to remove that. Also, if you have a Terms of
Service, you might want to state that the information can be used, but cannot
be copied. This still won't technically stop people from using your idea or
scraping data, but it will make them think twice about it.

Unless you can patent it, in which case it certainly would be yours legally.
Pretty sure there are ways to do that.

I mean, if you think about it, none of your data on Facebook or Google or even
the Internet is actually yours. I'm not sure you even own your own website.
Though a web hosting company would probably not assume the responsibilities of
taking over and are just renting you the space and the computer to present
your information. (Though certainly up for discussion -- I mean, a landlord
does not own your stuff, even if you don't pay your rent)

But you don't technically own that digital data. Lets take an example: I run a
website, Confessions of the Professions (
[http://www.confessionsoftheprofessions.com](http://www.confessionsoftheprofessions.com)
) and I have hundreds of contributors every year that submit their articles to
the website. Every author OWNS and claims credit for their articles. But once
it is published, what is done with it is no longer in the authors hands. If
this were the case, than I would not have permission to place ads on articles.
I do not own their article, per se, but I do own the digital data. So in my
terms, once the article is published, it can never be removed. That is what I
"own". However, I cannot claim the article is ever mine because I truly did
not write it. I believe this would constitute plagiarism. I have had authors
contact me for removal, and the only thing I can do is remove the fact that
they are an author or any identifying information, so after that, the author
becomes anonymous and no one is associated with that article.

I do allow other websites to copy any page on my website, but also in my
terms, they MUST give permission to the original author AND state the original
source that they found it from on the newly copied page. While not 100%, I
have seen other websites copy some of the infographics from my website, AND
they usually will put "Original Source" or something like that underneath, a
link back to my website. I believe it is good for SEO practices and favored in
the eyes of Google.

So I wouldn't fret about people copying your data, BUT you should have
somewhere that if they are to copy it, it is plausible to give credit where it
is due. In doing this, your website has the potential to become even more
popular and acquire more traffic.

