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.

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