QLD Intellectual Property Law Queries for an App Idea

[chaarmaine]

Hey,

I know a lot of beauty salons & hairdressers in my city very well. I have decided it would be easier for me to list them all in an app for my convenience rather than scanning through notes.

The app basically will list the category, then the salon name with a photo I've chosen of theirs next to it, then a review along with their Instagram account or details or website, etc.

Am I legally doing anything wrong under Intellectual Property Law if I do this? Is using the photo I've taken from their page and attaching it to their name copyright? Or just promoting the business? Or legally do I need to ask them briefly if they want to be listed or can I use their photo?

How should I go about this? And is using other photos on my app from Google or Facebook as an example or even as my background photo on the app copyright or doing anything to have me sued?

 

[Tim W]

Is using the photo I've taken from their page and attaching it to their name copyright? Or just promoting the business?

Using an image that they own, without their permission, is an infringement of copyright.

Or legally do I need to ask them briefly if they want to be listed or can I use their photo?

You can list them without their permission.
But to keep out of trouble, take your own photo of their shopfront.

How should I go about this?

Literally walk in and ask the owner if they want to be listed. You can stand in the street and take a picture, no problem.

And is using other photos on my app from Google or Facebook as an example or even as my background photo on the app copyright or doing anything to have me sued?

If they are not your photos, and you use them without permission of their owner, then you may be infringing.
Just because stuff is in the wild, doesn't mean that there isn't a copyright owner somewhere.