padmapper

3Taps countersues Craigslist, alleges unfair 'monopoly'

A company that lets developers pull Craigslist data off the site is suing the online classifieds site for trying to stop competition in the growing market.

3Taps, which lets apps like PadMapper use Craigslist's listings, filed a counter lawsuit against Craigslist today, according to a court document (posted below). Craigslist originally filed suit against PadMapper and 3Taps for copyright infringement.

Not only does 3Taps's response deny Craigslist claims -- the company argues that public facts are public property and should be open for everyone to use -- it says Craigslist has created a "monopoly."

"While … Read more

Craigslist drops claim of exclusive license to posts

Craigslist has dropped a provision claiming an exclusive license to users' posts just two weeks after implementing it in a bid to fend off third-parties trying to re-purpose the site's content.

According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Craigslist quietly abandoned the provision, which the EFF said also claimed the exclusive right to "enforce copyrights against anyone copying, republishing, distributing, or preparing derivative works without...consent."

The provision was first spotted about a week ago -- not long after the site sued PadMapper and 3taps for harvesting listings without permission and using them in PadMapper's offerings of … Read more

Craigslist sues PadMapper for 'mass harvesting' listings

Craigslist made good on its promise to go after PadMapper if it continued using Craigslist content on its site. The online classifieds company filed a lawsuit in San Francisco's federal court on Friday against both PadMapper and the data harvester it uses -- 3taps.

"For their own commercial benefit, defendants 3Taps and PadMapper are unlawfully and unabashedly mass-harvesting and redistributing postings entrusted by Craigslist users to their local Craigslist sites," reads the complaint filed by Craigslist. "This exploitation of Craigslist content undermines the integrity of local Craigslist communities, ultimately harming both Craigslist and its users."… Read more