Copyright: use other peoples blog content?

I have aggregator functionality that pulls content from RSS feeds. Can I legally display content from other peoples blogs on my website (I'd show a teaser and the full body would be on their site). Should I contact these people first?

By teaser, do you mean something like displaying the first few sentences and then a link that says "Click here to read the full article" or something that points to their website?

In my eyes, and I'm no lawyer so take this at face value, it would be okay. However, I'd still check with the RSS feed owner and ask their permission. Chances are, if it's a simple blog owner, you'll get a green light since you're providing a link. It would be different if you were displaying news from a CNN RSS feed.

I'm not a lawyer either but its not ok. Copyright is automatic as soon as you create something. Consider some of the people that have blogs now: celebrities, sports starts. Do you think it's ok with them? No. It's not ok to copy any one else's either, the only difference is you'll probably get away with it.

Where does one draw the line between copying someone's work and promoting someone's work?

Isn't this the point of RSS? When a blog owner writes a blog and enables RSS they are, in essence, agreeing to syndication of their content. Most RSS owners publish one or two sentences in their feed with a link to the original article on their site.

Why would it be wrong to use their own syndication method? I would agree with you if the OP was going to copy and paste their blog entries into his own RSS feed to send out to external sites, but if he is using the original blog poster's RSS feed, then that blog owner has offered to syndicate his/her content. And if you adhere to the wishes set forth (i.e. how they structure their RSS feed to display content the way they want it to be displayed) then I can't see how it would be wrong.

So, I must respectfully disagree with you on that.

If they agreed to syndication by RSS and the OP is playing by the rules to use that feed then yes. Make sure it's in writing. I was answering specifically "is it ok to post someone's blog on my site" which without securing the right and making sure it's kosher, is not.

Yeah, you can call it 'promoting'. But still it needs you to 'republish the original work in part or full'. Thats the contradiction. Republishers may seek permission to 'promote by means of republishing the original article in part or full with other terms mutually agreed upon'.

Afterall, there are many ways of promoting the work without republishing it, so 'promoting' cannot justify the 'no need of taking the permission'

However, if the original publisher willfully makes their content available through RSS or ATOM technologies, then they are granting permission for their content to be syndicated, which was the second half of my post. So the terms HAVE been mutually agreed upon, assuming the republisher abides by the guidelines (if the RSS publisher says no commercial sites can use the content, then so be it).

But if I, Joe Blow the Blog Owner, make my blog available through "Really Simple SYNDICATION", then I am granting permission for my content to be syndicated. Which is what it appears the OP is doing (using existing RSS feeds).

Thanks for the replies. I'll ask the individual content owners for permission.

Is an email a legal contract? It seems it would be very easy to forge an email.

Sincerely,
Bill Gates.
Microsoft Inc.

There's actually no such company as "Microsoft Inc."

It's "Microsoft Corporation".

I know. I didn't want to get sued for trademark infringement!

By using a rss syndication services the blogger grant a royalty-free, non-exclusive license to publicly display and distribute content, hence pulling the content from RSS feeds should not be copyright infringement.

100% agree