I’m not a lawyer. I’ve never studied Law. Frankly, I generally don’t like lawyers. (In full disclosure, I was married to a lawyer for eight years).
Tonight, I read reports of the Flava Works v myVidster case in which Judge Posner ruled that there was no copyright infringement for providing a link to another site’s content.
Now, again, emphasizing my lack of legal training, and relying purely on a logical approach, on the surface, it seems that Craiglist’s action (as it relates to the copyright complaint) is moot and invalid.
Why do I care enough to blog this? I love PadMapper. I love PadMapper for a number of reasons:
1. It demonstrates the power of Big Data for the average person;
2. It’s useful – my better half and I have used PadMapper frequently to research a new home for us;
3. It is visually more acceptable than Craiglist’s minimalist approach; and
4. It drives innovation.
The last point is most important for me. Information Technology is about moving forward. Using technology to further innovative uses for data and information. Whatever your position on civil liberties, the complaint being brought forward by Craigslist in so many way violates the civil liberties or at the very least social liberties offered by the Internet.