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ARTICLE · 21 OCTOBER 2011

Court Enforces Terms Of Use Against Website Scraper

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
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A Canadian decision has held that website terms of use can be binding on Internet users, even where those users were not required to click on an "I Agree" or equivalent icon.

CanadaIntellectual Property
Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
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Copyright 2011, Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

Originally published in Blakes Bulletin on Information Technology / Intellectual Property, October 2011

A Canadian decision has held that website terms of use can be binding on Internet users, even where those users were not required to click on an "I Agree" or equivalent icon. Century 21 Canada Limited Partnership v. Rogers Communications Inc. provides valuable guidance to website operators and sheds light on Internet contract formation, copyright infringement and trespass to chattels in the context of unauthorized website "scraping."

Background

Century 21 related to a dispute between the operators of two real estate websites. The ZOOCASA website, operated by a wholly owned subsidiary of Rogers (Zoocasa), offered users a search function for homes that included information about prices, locations, rooms and nearby amenities. The dispute arose because Zoocasa used "spiders" to access the Century 21 real estate

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