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hacker · 10-17-2004, 11:39 AM

The minimum cost to license the IMDB data is $10,000/USD per-year.

We've already been approached by a client who is VERY interested in repurposing this content + images for his project, and we approached IMDB as a liason for the client.

Now we know quite a bit about the innards of their content and structure, and how they do business. We have the whole IMDB datastore + images here (no, not "spidered" from their public website). With the proper conversion logic and queries coming from the database, with a moderate amount of work up-front, it is possible to make a really high-quality product out of the data.

Some interesting statistics:

Code:

    Total Titles: 416,989
     ----------------------------------------
     movies released theatrically     303,846
     made for TV movies                44,915
     TV series                         30,342
     direct to video movies            30,675
     mini series                        3,874
     
     Links Offsite
     ----------------------------------------
     Photos/Images                      3,347
     Comments/Reviews                 176,028
     
     Total People: 1,613,762
     ----------------------------------------
     Occupation      Names            Entries  
     ----------      -----            ------- 
     actors          539,977       2,410,701  
     actresses       326,978       1,239,687  
     directors        90,159         409,546
     producers       121,717         397,418
     writers         132,971         465,157
      
     Photos/Images                     8,338

There is a lot more contained in each record, but that should give you an idea of how utterly massive the whole project actually is.

That being said, if their redistribution of it is within legal limits, they've already paid $20,000/USD at a minimum to redistribute the IMDB content for 2003 and 2004.

I didn't see any sort of license or notice disclaiming or exclaiming ownership or liability of the content. Can I export the IMDB data to another format, and sell it, using the iSilo version as a base? (No, I cannot, but it isn't mentioned anywhere, as it should be, since iSilo does not own this content).

They're all minor nits, but since I represent several commercial clients who are in the publishing business, making sure the "quality of the mobile ebook industry" remains fairly pure, is important. If there are companies who are abusing the benefits of their own industry (such as redistributing copyrighted content without proper licensing), it makes everyone look bad.

10-17-2004, 11:39 AM	#7
hacker Technology Mercenary Posts: 617 Karma: 2561 Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: East Lyme, CT Device: Direct Neural Implant	The *minimum* cost to license the IMDB data is $10,000/USD per-year. We've already been approached by a client who is VERY interested in repurposing this content + images for his project, and we approached IMDB as a liason for the client. Now we know quite a bit about the innards of their content and structure, and how they do business. We have the whole IMDB datastore + images here (no, not "spidered" from their public website). With the proper conversion logic and queries coming from the database, with a moderate amount of work up-front, it is possible to make a really high-quality product out of the data. Some interesting statistics: Code: Total Titles: 416,989 ---------------------------------------- movies released theatrically 303,846 made for TV movies 44,915 TV series 30,342 direct to video movies 30,675 mini series 3,874 Links Offsite ---------------------------------------- Photos/Images 3,347 Comments/Reviews 176,028 Total People: 1,613,762 ---------------------------------------- Occupation Names Entries ---------- ----- ------- actors 539,977 2,410,701 actresses 326,978 1,239,687 directors 90,159 409,546 producers 121,717 397,418 writers 132,971 465,157 Photos/Images 8,338 There is a lot more contained in each record, but that should give you an idea of how utterly massive the whole project actually is. That being said, if their redistribution of it is within legal limits, they've already paid $20,000/USD at a minimum to redistribute the IMDB content for 2003 and 2004. I didn't see any sort of license or notice disclaiming or exclaiming ownership or liability of the content. Can I export the IMDB data to another format, and sell it, using the iSilo version as a base? (No, I cannot, but it isn't mentioned anywhere, as it should be, since iSilo does not own this content). They're all minor nits, but since I represent several commercial clients who are in the publishing business, making sure the "quality of the mobile ebook industry" remains fairly pure, is important. If there are companies who are abusing the benefits of their own industry (such as redistributing copyrighted content without proper licensing), it makes everyone look bad.