Craigslist Realizes It Went Too Far, No Longer Requires Exclusive License To Your Posts

from the non-exclusive dept

Fri, Aug 10th 2012 2:15pm — Mike Masnick

We've been noting some questionable behavior on the part of Craigslist lately, including its change in policy in which it tried to claim an exclusive license to everything you post on the site. This was of dubious legality already, and it appears that Craigslist has realized that it was going way too far. It's now dropped the exclusivity requirement, though has remained (typically) quiet about its thinking. Hopefully this is a sign that the company is actually paying attention to the public outcry about its recent bullying techniques. Craigslist (and Craig himself) have such a great reputation for being "good" players on the internet, it would be a shame if they hurt their reputation with moves that are so antithetical to the open internet.

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Filed Under: copyright, exclusive license
Companies: craigslist

11 Comments

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Aaron deOliveira, 10 Aug 2012 @ 2:29pm

going the way of the classifieds
craigslist is ripening for disruption. several different attempts have been made to build value on top of it. pretty soon someone will find enough value to build a new platform that accepts these value builders.
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- SujaOfJauhnral (profile), 10 Aug 2012 @ 2:36pm
  
  Re: going the way of the classifieds
  Hurry up is all I can say. Between this and Ebay taxing the shit out of everything I'm dying for a better place to list stuff on.
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  - :Lobo Santo (profile), 10 Aug 2012 @ 2:40pm
    
    Re: Re: going the way of the classifieds
    (Not to sound like an advert, but...)
    
    Have you seen bidkat? You could put up a "for sale" page and then throw around links to it on twitter or facebook or... craigslist.
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Get off my cyber-lawn! (profile), 10 Aug 2012 @ 3:39pm

PIMP
is what CL would have been if it continued to demand sole rights to all the sex posts on there!
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Aug 2012 @ 5:06pm

I hearby retract my previous "Fuck you craiglist" position.

/Still stand firm on "fuck you whale"
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- Anonymous Coward, 10 Aug 2012 @ 5:07pm
  
  Re:
  Also LOLing at the "Craigslist now has something valueable to protect so they have to be dickbags" guy.
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Anonymous Coward, 10 Aug 2012 @ 5:41pm

Safe Harbour
They have to do this, otherwise they would lose their DMCA safe harbour. If they actually did get an exclusive license for users' content, then that would amount to taking ownership of the copyright in the content, then they lose their DMCA safe harbour. That did not actually happen because transfers of copyright ownership have to be in writing. However, they were skating on thin ice.

They have wisely decided to put the matter of safe harbour back to a safe place.
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That Anonymous Coward (profile), 11 Aug 2012 @ 1:18am

Of course one is left to wonder why they don't look at the best of the best apps/sites that make "their" content more useful and look at acquiring it.

It almost seems like CL is heading down the path laid out by lawyers, where what they have done is sacred and needs no improvement whatsoever, to suggest change or make change is an attack on an icon!

Evolve or die... accept that people can build upon what you created and make it better. Fighting to stop them wastes time and money, and makes you less useful to users... and well your business isn't exactly rocket science.
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PCCare247 (profile), 11 Aug 2012 @ 2:41am

Downfall of Craigslist...!!
Achieving a position and maintaining that position are both important. Looks like Craigslist is struggling to do the latter one.
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notbob, 11 Aug 2012 @ 8:57am

Silly
Funny how everyone sees it as a keyhole, as opposed to what it actually is, an "open" break in a closed circle, or an O, if you will. Regardless, I think it's quite a clever symbol. But, for the OSI to go after OSHWA is just plain silly. What's next? Capital C is going to sue capital G for infringement?

nb
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- Anonymous Coward, 11 Aug 2012 @ 10:30am
  
  Re: Silly
  On the wrong article you have commented
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