It reminds me of a similar conflict in public records. Many municipalities charge for copies of public records. One can go to viewing rooms and examine the re

It reminds me of a similar conflict in public records. Many municipalities charge for copies of public records. One can go to viewing rooms and examine the records at no charge. We all own those records as members of the public that funded them, and the place where they are kept. Many municipalities want to prohibit photography because people taking their own picture of a public record does not involve the copy fee. The municipality confuses access to records as a part of their fee, and that is where attempts to limit photography come from. The fee actually funds the work necessary for an official copy to be made, optionally stamped to be admissible in court or accepted as an "original copy." A photocopy of a death certificate is no different than the one the city clerk made, except for the stamp and clerk being able to testify about making the record copy. Some companies and government agencies will accept a death cert no matter what. Others want an official copy. Getting back to scraping: Clearly people have access and can make their own data copies. Maybe the answer is for companies to make official data products available, or something along those lines.