Using Reviews From The Amazon Website and Amazon's TOS
People have been asking me to prove my position on this issue...
So, for your consideration....
Now, I will confess that finding your way around Amazon's TOS is painful, since it is not all located in one place...
On this page, Amazon says:
Amazon.com Help: Conditions of Use
Then on this page, Amazon said this:
https://forums.aws.amazon.com/ann.jspa?annID=760
Now, I am not an attorney, nor do I pretend to be one on the Internet...
So, you may feel free to interpret this information differently than I did.
But clearly, I have interpreted this information to mean that Amazon owns the rights to any reviews put on the Amazon website in association to our books or products, AND Amazon does not want us to put those reviews on our websites...
It is true that several plugin developers are using reviews from Amazon's website.
Many of those folks are doing that, and they are doing that outside of the Amazon Product Advertising API, and according to this document (the first one linked above), and as a result -- according to my interpretation -- this could result in Amazon account termination for affiliates:
This is the information for you to consider...
Please feel free to interpret this information as you see fit to do...
So, for your consideration....
Now, I will confess that finding your way around Amazon's TOS is painful, since it is not all located in one place...
On this page, Amazon says:
Amazon.com Help: Conditions of Use
|
REVIEWS, COMMENTS, COMMUNICATIONS, AND OTHER CONTENT Visitors may post reviews, comments, photos, and other content; send e-cards and other communications; and submit suggestions, ideas, comments, questions, or other information, so long as the content is not illegal, obscene, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, infringing of intellectual property rights, or otherwise injurious to third parties or objectionable and does not consist of or contain software viruses, political campaigning, commercial solicitation, chain letters, mass mailings, or any form of "spam." You may not use a false e-mail address, impersonate any person or entity, or otherwise mislead as to the origin of a card or other content. Amazon reserves the right (but not the obligation) to remove or edit such content, but does not regularly review posted content. If you do post content or submit material, and unless we indicate otherwise, you grant Amazon a nonexclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, and fully sublicensable right to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, and display such content throughout the world in any media. You grant Amazon and sublicensees the right to use the name that you submit in connection with such content, if they choose. You represent and warrant that you own or otherwise control all of the rights to the content that you post; that the content is accurate; that use of the content you supply does not violate this policy and will not cause injury to any person or entity; and that you will indemnify Amazon for all claims resulting from content you supply. Amazon has the right but not the obligation to monitor and edit or remove any activity or content. Amazon takes no responsibility and assumes no liability for any content posted by you or any third party. |
https://forums.aws.amazon.com/ann.jspa?annID=760
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Dear Product Advertising API Developer, On November 8, 2010 the Reviews response group of the Product Advertising API will no longer return customer reviews content and instead will return a link to customer reviews content hosted on Amazon.com. You will be able to display customer reviews on your site using that link. Please refer to the Product Advertising API Developer guide found here for more details. The Reviews response group will continue to function as before until November 8 and the new link to customer reviews is available to you now through the Product Advertising API as well. Thank you for advertising products for sale on Amazon.com. The Product Advertising API Team |
Now, I am not an attorney, nor do I pretend to be one on the Internet...
So, you may feel free to interpret this information differently than I did.
But clearly, I have interpreted this information to mean that Amazon owns the rights to any reviews put on the Amazon website in association to our books or products, AND Amazon does not want us to put those reviews on our websites...
It is true that several plugin developers are using reviews from Amazon's website.
Many of those folks are doing that, and they are doing that outside of the Amazon Product Advertising API, and according to this document (the first one linked above), and as a result -- according to my interpretation -- this could result in Amazon account termination for affiliates:
|
LICENSE AND SITE ACCESS Amazon grants you a limited license to access and make personal use of this site and not to download (other than page caching) or modify it, or any portion of it, except with express written consent of Amazon. This license does not include any resale or commercial use of this site or its contents; any collection and use of any product listings, descriptions, or prices; any derivative use of this site or its contents; any downloading or copying of account information for the benefit of another merchant; or any use of data mining, robots, or similar data gathering and extraction tools. This site or any portion of this site may not be reproduced, duplicated, copied, sold, resold, visited, or otherwise exploited for any commercial purpose without express written consent of Amazon... Any unauthorized use terminates the permission or license granted by Amazon. |
This is the information for you to consider...
Please feel free to interpret this information as you see fit to do...