This month’s Wired magazine has a perceptive article about so-called "data scraping" or "screen scraping" practices. It discusses the practical aspects of data scraping (such as IP address banning or blocking as a practical remedy to prevent scraping), use of cease and desist letters, and use of properly-licensed web services application programming interfaces (API’s) as a way to control such practices.
The article does not provide any detail about underlying legal theories or court cases to prevent data scraping, such as those based on the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) or court cases concerning unfair competition.
Source: Should Web Giants Let Startups Use the Information They Have About You?, by Josh McHugh.
