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Internet 'Data Scraping'
The proliferation of Internet access and mobile devices has led to an exponential explosion of content on the Web, creating a vast repository of “publicly available” information. This includes not only news, business and financial information, but also personal data, movie and restaurant reviews, concert ticket sales, flight information, and a virtually endless array of other categories. This same technological explosion, however, has made it far easier for third parties to extract this data for commercial sale and use ' and to do so for free and without authorization. This data extraction, commonly referred to as “scraping,” “crawling,” or “spidering” (collectively “scraping”), creates legal issues and concerns for both sides of this issue ' those who want to scrape, and those who want to protect against scraping of their websites. See, EF Cultural Travel BV v. Zefer, 318 F.3d 58, 60 (1st Cir. 2003) (“A scraper, also called a 'robot' or 'bot,' is nothing more than a computer program that accesses information contained in a succession of webpages stored on the accessed computer”); eBay v. Bidder's Edge, 100 F. Supp. 2d 1058, 1060 (N.D. Cal. 2000).
While it is possible to embed instructions on websites that inform the scraping software whether scraping is permitted (called “robot.txt” files), compliance with such instructions is voluntary. See, Bidder's Edge , at 1061.
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
Removing Restrictive Covenants In New York
In Rockwell v. Despart, the New York Supreme Court, Third Department, recently revisited a recurring question: When may a landowner seek judicial removal of a covenant restricting use of her land?
Coverage Issues Stemming from Dry Cleaner Contamination Suits
In recent years, there has been a growing number of dry cleaners claiming to be "organic," "green," or "eco-friendly." While that may be true with respect to some, many dry cleaners continue to use a cleaning method involving the use of a solvent called perchloroethylene, commonly known as perc. And, there seems to be an increasing number of lawsuits stemming from environmental problems associated with historic dry cleaning operations utilizing this chemical.