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Padmapper doesn't infringe copyrights either. edit: Ok, I won't be so cryptic. Padmapper doesn't copy the posts on Craigslist, they link to them. That's not a

by cwp 14y ago

Padmapper doesn't infringe copyrights either. edit: Ok, I won't be so cryptic. Padmapper doesn't copy the posts on Craigslist, they link to them. That's not a semantic quibble. All search engines do so. If I blogged that I was renting my apartment and linked to the Craigslist post describing it, I would be doing exactly what Padmapper is doing.

danielweber 14y ago
I think there is a significant difference between copying data, and just giving pointers to CL's data. However, If I blogged that I was renting my apartment and linked to the Craigslist post describing it, I would be doing exactly what Padmapper is doing. This doesn't line up in a few ways. Padmapper is a third-party, not the original poster. There is also a distinction between doing it as a one-off and doing it in an automated fashion. Padmapper needs to make it trivial for people to "upload" their listings from CL to PM. It could be a single bookmarklet. Now, suppose that Alice tells Padmapper about Bob's apartment for rent on CL. That's getting even weirder, but PM might be okay if they follow DMCA safe harbour procedures.
- cwp 14y ago
  If linking without permission is problematic, Hacker News is in real trouble. So is just about every blog and news site on the web.
  - danielweber 14y ago
    Right. I've already agreed that there is a significant difference between displaying copies of CL listings and just having pointers to them. It doesn't seem, however, that the link is the crux of CL's complaint. Rather it's the fact that PM has copied CL's data in order to generate a mapping of physical locations to CL listings.
    - cwp 14y ago
      You can't copyright data, only its expression. That a certain apartment is available for rent is a fact. The text that appears on the CL website is one expression of that fact. The map that appears on Padmapper is another expression of the same fact.

by cwp 14y ago

danielweber 14y ago

I think there is a significant difference between copying data, and just giving pointers to CL's data. However, If I blogged that I was renting my apartment and linked to the Craigslist post describing it, I would be doing exactly what Padmapper is doing. This doesn't line up in a few ways. Padmapper is a third-party, not the original poster. There is also a distinction between doing it as a one-off and doing it in an automated fashion. Padmapper needs to make it trivial for people to "upload" their listings from CL to PM. It could be a single bookmarklet. Now, suppose that Alice tells Padmapper about Bob's apartment for rent on CL. That's getting even weirder, but PM might be okay if they follow DMCA safe harbour procedures.

cwp 14y ago
If linking without permission is problematic, Hacker News is in real trouble. So is just about every blog and news site on the web.
- danielweber 14y ago
  Right. I've already agreed that there is a significant difference between displaying copies of CL listings and just having pointers to them. It doesn't seem, however, that the link is the crux of CL's complaint. Rather it's the fact that PM has copied CL's data in order to generate a mapping of physical locations to CL listings.
  - cwp 14y ago
    You can't copyright data, only its expression. That a certain apartment is available for rent is a fact. The text that appears on the CL website is one expression of that fact. The map that appears on Padmapper is another expression of the same fact.