On: Craigslist Suing Padmapper

[icebraining]

It's not Craigslist data, it's the users'. They just have a license.

/pedant

[tptacek → icebraining]

Users are free to post their listings to both Padmapper and Craigslist. Padmapper is not therefore automatically entitled to repurpose Craigslist as a kind of ad-hoc aggregator API for user listings.

[icebraining → tptacek]

I know, I wasn't claiming otherwise, I just meant what I wrote.

[waterlesscloud → icebraining]

Great. Have the users provided a license to PadMapper? Where is this license agreement? How is it made?

[scotty79 → waterlesscloud]

They provide the license to everyone to spread the word that they have apartment for sale by default. It's more resonable to assume that than anything else.

[invisible → waterlesscloud]

Google also indexes this data. Craigslist obviously doesn't own this data as they have DMCA practices in place. They can't claim DMCA and also say that the data is their data.

[dangrossman → invisible]

Read Craigslist's TOS. The copyright remains with the listing author, but they sign over rights to enforce that copyright to Craigslist.

[stcredzero → dangrossman]

That is a power that, in the past, Craigslist has used for good. In this case, it's a power being used just for the benefit of Craigslist to protect its network effect incumbency, to the detriment of users.

[metageek → dangrossman]

Doesn't that run afoul of the same problem as Righthaven? There is no bare "right to sue" that can be transferred without transferring the copyright.

[jongraehl → waterlesscloud]

Of course you're correct, but surely (under the active hypothetical of CL having a license to the users' data) it would fall to the users to sue PadMapper (which they almost surely won't, because they're happy having more interest in their rental).

[icebraining → waterlesscloud]

Stop assuming things that I didn't claim. I meant what I wrote, nothing else.