Ever used a friend's account to sign on to a Web site instead of paying its subscription fee? One realtor is facing down a $900 million suit in Maryland for allegedly doing more or less the same thing.
The suit, filed by Bethesda, Md.-based CoStar Realty Information, alleges that managers at New York's Dumann Realty illegally accessed their Web site, a subscription to which costs hundreds of dollars a month and provides clients with real estate information such photos and vacancy databases, by borrowing another customer's user information. According to the complaint, filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, the attempted swindle cost CoStar roughly $5,000 in fees.
But here's the $900 million wrinkle: CoStar is accusing Dumann, as well as the alleged co-conspirators who lent it the account, of copyright infringement. By accessing its Web site on the sly, CoStar claims, Dumann's employees did the equivalent of illegally distributing its content. Costar is asking that Dumann pay $150,000 a pop for every stolen glance at a photo, and every furtive search on a database.
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