Legal Question in Technology Law in California
Question on meta-searches
I am thinking of creating a real estate portal which does a meta search on other real estate portals. I will list the source for every piece of property I show on my site. Is this legal to do?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Question on meta-searches
Google does this with the news articles and other information it gathers but it has been sued over this and has made deals with other parties to resolve their claims. If all you do is point viewers to the original source, how do you benefit and why would you do this? Advertising? You could do this in a way to avoid most disputes. We can help you because we're focused on the Internet. We advise how to avoid Internet related problems, consult on current issues, work to resolve disputes, and litigate when necessary.
Re: Question on meta-searches
In principle, meta-searches are legal. Whether a particular method of displaying the search results is legal will depend upon what information is displayed, the manner in which it is presented and the sources from which it is obtained. You have not provided enough information about your plans, so there is no way we can say whether carrying them out would be legal.