Re: INFO: eBay v. AuctionWatch?

On Fri, 8 Oct 1999, Barbara Ruhmann <brruhmann[_at_]ucdavis.edu> wrote:
>
> On Fri, 8 Oct 1999, Colin Seeger <seeger[_at_]ozemail.com.au> wrote:
> >
> > On Wed, 6 Oct 1999, Craig A. Summerhill <craig[_at_]cni.org> wrote:
> > >
> > > The "sweat of the brow" statement was the one that eally caught
> > > my attention. I'm no lawyer, but I don't see where eBay has a
> > > legal leg to stand on -- especially considering the official
> > > eBay position is that they don't own the information posted on
> > > their site. (Presumably, IP rights are retained by the people
> > > authoring the items?).
> >
> > Depends on what the engine actually does, but searching seems not to
> > amount to a "substantial reproduction" any way you look at it. Can't
> > see any "misleading and deceptive" elements there either so long as
> > the info transcrition is accurate.
>
> What the site does, actually, is presents a listing page with a link to
> the particular auction site offering the item. Hit the magic button,
> and you're right on the eBay page, ready to bid -- or any other site,
> depending on the magic button you hit. I would think this would thrill
> eBay -- I can instantly find what I want, the price I'd be willing to
> bid from, and then access the very site page I need to bid! If I don't
> know an item is ON eBay, unless i go directly to them (duplicated
> effort), I'm liable to bid from someone else's site -- and many of the
> sellers on eBay also offer items ON those other sites!

Thanks for the description -- I get a rash if I go near on-line auction sites so stay well away. Mind you, that's one nifty piece of software they've got. Still not sure why ebay is bullying them but there you are. I agree with you about the functional advantages -- if the would-be buyer is given easier access to e-Bay, what's their beef? I think the earlier comment about steroids or hormones or whatever was right on target.

CS

"Galvanising Ideas"

Colin Seeger, Consultant, Management of Intellectual Property. P.O Box 3227, Tamarama, Sydney, Australia 2026 Tel: (61) (02) 9365 1186, Fax (61) (02) 9365 1286 <seeger[_at_]ozemail.com.au> Received on Tue Oct 12 1999 - 13:12:43 GMT