Craigslist Gets $6 Million in DMCA Default Damages Against CAPTCHA-Bypass Vendor

A company that designed, offered to sell, distributed, and later transferred a software system that enabled craigslist advertisers to post advertisements automatically in violation of craigslist’s terms of service is liable for $6 million in statutory damages under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California held Dec. 20 (Craigslist Inc. v. Mesiab, N.D. Cal., 4:08-cv-05064-CW, 11/15/10).

In its complaint—one of twelve craigslist filed in November, 2008 against companies that sold software enabling users to bypass craigslist.com security features—craigslist contended that the defendants’ unauthorized use and sale of ...