Web scraper sued by Google claims Google is the one scraping the web

Source: The Verge

Background

SerpApi, a company that offers tools to scrape content on the web, is fighting back against Google’s copyright lawsuit that accuses it of vacuuming up search results “at an astonishing scale.”

Google’s Lawsuit

In December, Google sued SerpApi, claiming the smaller scraper had violated the Copyright Act by using “deceptive means” to access and scrape its search results. Google also alleges that SerpApi found a way to bypass its anti‑scraping system, SearchGuard.

SerpApi’s Response

In a motion to dismiss filed on Friday, SerpApi argues that Google does not hold a copyright on its search results, alleging that the engine is built “on the backs of others who posted ‘the world’s information.’”

References

• Read the full story at The Verge