Is selling a "website screen scraper" illegal?

Posted by Yatendra Goel on Stack Overflow See other posts from Stack Overflow or by Yatendra Goel
Published on 2010-04-17T19:12:28Z Indexed on 2010/04/18 10:53 UTC
Read the original article Hit count: 305

Filed under:

java

|

screen-scraping

|

legal

|

not-programming-related

I have coded a "website screen scraper" and want to sell it commercially. I know that webpages scraped by the screen scraper are restricted to be scraped by the webmaser of that website.

The robots.txt file of the website says that its webpages must not be scraped.

So my question is whether selling that screen scraper is a crime or using that screen scraper is a crime in legal terms.

I know that this question is related to law but I thought the software experts on SO must also have answer to this question.

© Stack Overflow or respective owner

Related posts about java

Tomcat 6: Access Control Exception?

as seen on Server Fault - Search for 'Server Fault'
I'm trying to setup a tomcat6 server, and I'm trying to match another setup someone else established. However, my deployment (default Ubuntu install) uses a policy.d/ directory structure, and the established server just uses a catalina.policy file. I've tried setting every entry in policy.d to match… >>> More
Problem in creation MDB Queue connection at Jboss StartUp

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
I am not able to create a Queue connection in JBOSS4.2.3GA Version & Java1.5, as I am using MDB as per the below details. I am putting this MDB in a jar file(named utsJar.jar) and copied it in deploy folder of JBOSS, In the test env. this MDB works well but in another env. [ env settings and… >>> More
failing to establish connection between Postgres db and gwt

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
Hi, I am using Postgres and gwt 2.0 for one of my applications. I am facing problem connecting to the database. When I try to connect it gives "ClassNotFoundException". Here is what I get when I try to connect to database: java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: org.postgresql.Driver at java.net… >>> More
failing to establish connection between postgre db and gwt

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
Hi, For i am using postgre and gwt 2.0 for one of my applications. I am facing problem connecting to the database. When i try to connect it gives "ClassNotFoundException". Here is what i get when i try to connect to database: java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: org.postgresql.Driver at java.net… >>> More
Migration and deployement problems JBoss 4.2.2.GA to JBoss 6.0.0.M2

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
Hi, I'm trying to migrate an application running on JBoss 4.2.2.GA to JBoss 6.0.0.M2 I give you some log to explain my problem : boot.log : 2010-03-16 09:59:29,406 ERROR [org.jboss.system.server.profileservice.ProfileServiceBootstrap] (Thread-2) Failed to load profile: Summary of incomplete deployments… >>> More

Related posts about screen-scraping

PHP Screen Scraping Class

as seen on Bradino - Search for 'Bradino'
After some positive feedback I have decided to continue to develop the PHP Screen Scraping class. This post will server as the permanent home for the class. Download PHP Screen Scraping Class Updates 20009-07-30 Added setHeader() function >>> More
Screen scraping over SSL with .NET

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
What solutions exist for screen scraping a site over SSL for use with .NET? My use case is that I need to login to a partner website (https), navigate through a dynamic hierarchy, and download a zipped file of reports. I certainly could use other screen scrapers if there are no good viable options… >>> More
looking for alternative to Webzinc .NET , screen scraping, web automation library for .net

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
i came across this .net library http://www.webzinc.com/online/faq.aspx however, i was wondering if there was a free alternative out there ? >>> More
Screen-scraping of a secure page of any site on https:// with asp.net in C#

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
I've done site scraping of secure page of any site on http:// but when I am trying to scrap any site on https:// then i always scrape the login page not secure page. Please advice what should i do for scraping a secure page of any site on https://. >>> More
How different is mashup from screenscraping and consuming webservices

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
From what I understand, Mashup is aggregating data from separate sources and providing a single view. How different is mashup when compared to screenscraping or using webservices to get data from external sources? >>> More