Copyright Infringement with User-Generated Data
Background
Over the last several months Craigslist and Padmapper have traded legal accusations around copyright infringement and unfair business practices.? Craigslist, which is one of the first P2P exchanges on the internet, accused Padmapper of copyright infringement for using a computer program to scrape Craigslist.com for apartment rental listings and recompiling the information into a new user interface located on Padmapper.com. ?Users would visit Padmapper?s site to see apartment listings (from Craigslist) laid out on top of a city map, making it easier for them to compare rental locations against each other.? This is very different from how Craigslist lists the information.? To many, this was considered a significant improvement in the user experience.? Padmapper?s technology also allowed other features, such as bookmarking posts and searches, which Craigslist did not allow.
Over the summer, Craigslist blocked Padmapper from accessing its site and accused them of copyright infringement of the user generated content.? Padmapper responded with a workaround by accessing a different data source from 3taps, essentially using 3Taps as the intermediary by which Craigslist data was accessed (3taps finds indirect methods of collecting information that has been posted on Craigslist).? ?The CEO of Padmapper wrote on his blog the following:
?I?ve been wrestling with whether to bring back Craigslist listings in the search results. I?ve found a way to include them that I?m told is legally kosher since it doesn?t touch their servers at all, but it still seems somewhat dickish to go against their wishes in this, and I?ve always had a lot of respect for what they?ve done for the world. Also, court seems like it?d be no fun.?
As a result, Craigslist sued both Padmapper and 3taps for infringement. ?3taps retaliated by suing Craigslist for violating anti-trust laws.??
A key issue here is whether or not the data on Craigslist are actually public facts.
3taps and Padmapper believe that the user-generated apartment listings are public domain.? That is, they are public facts.? Craigslist doesn?t have ownership over its users publicly broadcasting that they are renting apartments.? However, Craigslist believes that it owns these particular listings because it provides the platform on which others view the information.
Questions to consider:
Is Craigslist an Exchange, like the NYSE??If it is, maybe it doesn?t own the content that is posted on the site, just as the NYSE doesn?t own the rights to redistributing the stock quotes and prices for companies listed on the exchange.?
Does being an open garden versus a walled garden impact if the data is public??Do users intend their information to be in a walled and private garden? Since Craigslist operates as an open garden, it?s difficult to say that the information sent on to it is intended not to be public.?
Does it matter if Padmapper is listing the information differently than how Craigslist is??This comes back to what Craigslist owns: the way the data is displayed, or the content and aggregation of the content. ?To what extent did Padmapper copy Craigslist's assets?
Is it relevant that Craigslist was not improving how it distributed the data??According to the opinion in Metro-Goldwyn v Grokster, the courts have generally favored technology over stringent copyright protection, so long as the technology is not overwhelmingly intended to infringe on copyrights but has other commercial use.? ?The reason for this is that technology is seen to have positive impact for society.?
Can Padmapper technology be seen as a positive for society and can this be given some consideration? But does Craigslist have the right to not improve its own technology even if the data is ?locked? into its technology?
What if Craigslist is a monopoly? Are they allowed to thwart competition and growth??I think it becomes a more difficult question to answer if you consider Craigslist a monopoly, and that is a key issue in the legal debate.
The case is not obvious, but this is good for competition
Although Craigslist probably has a right to not change its user interface, it does increase the risk that a competitor comes along who can make better use of the information to provide a much different kind of service.? Padmapper did this by overlaying rental listings on top of a map, and society responded positively.? Padmapper and 3taps are operating in a legal gray area, but this has forced Craigslist to innovate.?? In response to Padmapper?s growth, Craigslist recently has taken the unusual step (for itself) of improving its own interface technology.? It is now piloting out a new rental user interface in select cities.
Strong property rights are the hallmark of a free and capitalist society.? However, too strong of property rights can also thwart innovation and change, especially when networks of information are controlled by a single owner with few incentives to improve.? In this case, Craigslist owned the networks connecting rental consumers to rental sellers.?? Being in this position is highly defensible since it is very hard for new entrants to create an equivalent network, and ultimately, it creates a monopoly. ?However, Padmapper's ability to leverage the content users post to Craigslist and create better technology helps society. ?
Time will only tell in what the courts decide as they weigh whether or not this gain in technology is larger than the cost of harming platform providers, who--as in the case of Craigslist--have expended significant effort to build that platform. ?For example, will ruling in favor of Padmapper reduce incentives for future innovators to create their own platforms?
http://allthingsd.com/20120724/craigslist-sues-padmapper-founder-says-he-tried-to-negotiate/
http://www.wired.com/business/2012/08/craigslist/
http://allthingsd.com/20121001/mashery-is-the-latest-to-be-snared-by-craigslists-copyright-crusade/
http://venturebeat.com/2012/10/04/craigslist-map-view/
http://www.quora.com/Craigslist-PadMapper-Dispute-June-2012/Will-PadMappers-adoption-of-the-3taps-API-to-bring-back-Craigslist-listings-get-3taps-in-trouble-with-Craigslist
http://venturebeat.com/2012/09/24/3taps-suing-craigslist-save-internet/
http://blog.padmapper.com/2012/07/09/bringing-craigslist-back/
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