Judge Says Aggregating Content Online Is Legal
from the not-copyright-infringement dept
This case may turn out to be a lot more important than people realize, but a judge has ruled that an aggregator of information on boat sales did not infringe the copyrights of a site they scraped for information. The judge pointed out that the aggregator only took factual info (which is not copyrightable) and the images it took weren't actually the property of the site, but those who uploaded them. This does leave open the possibility that those users could sue, but considering the fact that they're trying to sell their boats, they probably appreciate the wider exposure. Of course, all of this might not matter if Congress passes a law allowing companies to copyright databases.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
