

Ask HN: Is this legal? - gumbo

Hi There.
I've crafted the last weeks a mobile app (android/iphone) that allow people to know the schedules of trains for the national train company. The company don't have any web service, so how i've done that?<p>They actually offer on their website a for to query their system but it is not optimized for the mobile and it is so slow.
So i've build a proxy on my server that query and cache the schedules it also expose the datas as a REST web service.<p>The app is already on the app store and android market, but i'm wondering if i'm not violating a law here.<p>So is this legal in USA?<p>Thanks in advance.
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Yana_Convelife
It is very unlikely that a large national train company wouldn't have TOS for
the info on its website. Have a closer look. It may be in a non-obvious place.

If its TOS is something like Amtrak's, the company may still not have a
successful suit against you. Amtrak's TOS require the user to recognize that
Amtrak's proprietary right in the data on its website is valid and enforceable
probably because the law does not recognize that right by default. I think it
is written that way to allow Amtrak's attorneys to make some creative
arguments in court if it would need to sue. But to win they would probably
need to convince a judge to change the law. Having said that, the company
could still sue if it really doesn't want you to provide the app in the hope
that you settle before the case reaches trial.

Do consult a lawyer just to get a sense of the likely risk of lawsuit.

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gumbo
Checked everywhere on the website and no TOS anywhere, the only mention
regarding Intelectual property is:

"2009 © All right reserved" ;-)

Anyway, i'll consult a lawyer and pay 200$ maybe before launching any ad
campaign.

You've been all so helpfull.

Thanks.

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daimyoyo
In my opinion(I'm not a lawyer) it's better to ask forgiveness than
permission. So market the app. Then, if the train company tries to harass you,
take the app down and open source it. That way, you'll make money between the
time you launch, and the time the train co notices you, and you'll have a
great reference for your next project. And if they choose not to do anything,
even better! Just make sure you back down when their C&D comes. No need
spending all your profits on attorney's fees.

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phlux
Legal yes. It may be against their terms of service or some lame restriction
because your showing them to be less competent.

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ChuckMcM
Agree with phlux here, its the 'terms of service' that, if they care, they
will come after you with. That being said, did you approach them with an offer
to sell them the app?

In the Bay Area we have a variety of 'CalTrain' apps which vary in quality and
utility, they all rely on the same data. None (in my opinon) capture the
elegant simplicity of the original PalmOS application.

In terms of infrastructure improvement, a generalized mash-up of all public
transit combined with location based sensing and destination intent would seem
to be the end goal. Maybe with an overflow timeout that links to Uber :-)

~~~
gumbo
I've tried to sell them the app before actually starting to build it without
success. I've tried to sell it for month now, but as it is a HUGE company with
only old school and out dated tech... i haven't got much luck.

The reason why i'm asking for it legality is because i'm planning to launch a
marketing campaign to attract more users (actually have 2769k on
iPhone/Android without any marketing): i'm trying to provoke them with the
campaign to make them buy the app and rebrand it.

Thanks for the feedback.

