[LESS INFO] 25 VIEWS | ADDED 14:49:09 05/23/08
Tony Berkman (Majestic Research ), Stephen Kaufer (TripAdvisor), Penny Herscher (FirstRain, Inc.)--The Web is like an infinite library. Prices, popularity, schedules, economic releases, weather data, ocean buoy heights—it’s all there, and often in realtime. It can feel like a data bonanza to more enlightened financial market sorts, with this profusion of data opening up myriad doors for new strategies that go far beyond the traditional reliance on company filings, earnings data, and quarterly conference calls. But there is a problem. Many major web sites prohibit automated access to their site, with terms of use that say such usage is not permissible. Some argue that such prohibitions make no sense, and are likely not enforceable. Other companies take advantage of their less insightful competitors and open up their data to all comers, financial or otherwise. It is a crucial issue, and we have insights from a prominent lawyer in the area, the CEO of a major web property, and one of the best known equity research firms using web-based data.
