Aren't sites able to prevent this type of thing through a prominent terms of use link on every page? (Ticketmaster 2003, Cairo v. CrossMedia Services)<p>Is it that this is still a legal gray area, or is it that big companies can roll over small companies and individuals?<p>Ticketmaster - <a href="http://itlaw.wikia.com/wiki/Ticketmaster_v._Tickets.com" rel="nofollow">http://itlaw.wikia.com/wiki/Ticketmaster_v._Tickets.com</a><p>Cairo v. CossMedia - <a href="http://itlaw.wikia.com/wiki/Cairo_v._CrossMedia_Services" rel="nofollow">http://itlaw.wikia.com/wiki/Cairo_v._CrossMedia_Services</a>
There's a lot to be concerned about here for anyone who provides a data mining backed web application or service.<p>At PatientsLikeMe patients are trading use of their information for free access to data analysis tools and social community.
It's almost always going to violate the site's TOS, so if you're a business that depends on regularly scraping sites without permission, prepare to change your business model or be sued. (eg. Octopart vs Mouser and Digikey)