"derivative work" and the consumption of web services

Question

From the Wowhead Terms of Service:

"Intellectual Property Rights The Service and any necessary software used in connection with the Service ("Software") contain proprietary and confidential information that is protected by applicable intellectual property and other laws. You agree not to modify, rent, lease, loan, sell, distribute or create derivative works based on the Service or the Software, in whole or in part."

Does this mean that I can't write a program to consume a web service being published by the writers of this TOS?

I find it kind of scary that I even have to ask this question. The wikipedia article on "derivative works" isn't very conclusive.

Answer 1

If the communication protocol is standard (e.g. HTTP, SOAP), I don't think it's considered derivative work of the Web server software. It relies on standard protocols and would work with any implementation of the same API over those standards.

Disclaimer: I'm not a laywer.

Answer 2

You should read the whole agreement, not just the Intellectual Property section.

The terms of service that most apply to you have to do with the content, not the intellectual property. IMO, it's easier to violate their TOS by using their content, than it is to use their service.

You may not modify, rent, lease, loan, sell, distribute or create derivative works based on this Content

As someone else has pointed out, it's easy enough to call or email the company, discuss your intended use, and ask them if it's kosher or not. It's also easy enough for them to email you a written confirmation to that effect.

Common sense reality check: If the tables were turned, and you owned the company, would you approve of the intended use?

Answer 3

IMO (and IANAL), no... don't make a client that downloads and re-packages wowhead services. That's probably a bad idea.

As has been said in the comments you should contact wowhead directly and ask them if you can do whatever you're thinking of doing. Even better, they have an IRC channel and you can solicit the opinion of a staffer there, possibly without giving away whatever possibly brilliant, possibly money-making idea you have.

Now if you're trolling for circumventing their rules and lawyering-up that's your choice (again I am NOT a lawyer, and this sounds like it could get you in trouble). It is absolutely possible to scrape wowhead content and use it in an app for various things.

If this is a custom application for your own personal use, I really recommend asking them informally and they'll probably give you permission. I did the same thing before I started prototyping an app that I abandoned when I stopped playing.