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  •   about 7 years ago

Can I use information from a website in my Alexa Skill?

I need to copy/paste information from a website into my Skill. Example: I need to use some information found on my college's website or some other college's website. Is this legal? Do I have to require permission from them? Do I have to cite the website somewhere in my Skill?

  • 6 comments

  • Manager   •   about 7 years ago

    Hey Karytta,

    What information are you trying to copy? The answer probably depends.

    Best,
    Stefanie

  •   •   about 7 years ago

    Hey Stefanie,

    For instance some information from the math lab from my college or some other college.

  • Manager   •   about 7 years ago

    Hi Karytta,

    Typically, to use someone else's content you need approval and permission. Here's an article on the topic: https://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/introduction/getting-permission/

    Another alternative is to find a usable publicly available dataset that already provides a usage structure. If the content is about NYC, for example, you could use datasets from sites like this https://opendata.cityofnewyork.us/

    Make sure you have permission and are not simply copy/pasting content. That could cause you to fail certification or the content owner could request you take the app down.

    Hope this helps!
    Stefanie

  •   •   about 7 years ago

    Stefanie,

    Thank you so much! I was able to contact the website administration and they granted me permission to use their information. Yay! Now, do you think a copy of the email is enough to show proof or do they need to fill out any paper work?

    Karytta

  • Manager   •   about 7 years ago

    That's great! Typically, you just need proof that permission was given so the email should be sufficient. For the purposes of your submission on Devpost, I'd just recommend that you include a line in the text description that says where the data comes from. Keep the email in case it comes up during the skill certification process, though.

    Thanks!
    Stef

  •   •   about 7 years ago

    Perfect! Thanks.

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