Instacart And Uber's Cornershop Settle Scraping Battle

Uber's grocery delivery service Cornershop has agreed to refrain from scraping listings and photos from Instacart, in order to settle an 18-month-old legal battle.

Cornershop also agreed that it won't use or display any of Instacart's copyrighted images, and that it won't use or display data obtained from scraping Instacart -- including information about product prices and availability.

The companies notified U.S. District Court Judge Susan van Keulen in San Jose on Thursday about the terms of their settlement.

The deal resolves a lawsuit brought by Instacart in July of 2020, when it accused Cornershop of "stealing and misusing" listings.

Instart specifically alleged that Cornershop copied thousands of images of groceries -- including ones Instacart created through its own mobile photo studio.

Instacart said in the complaint that its photographs "offer customers a magical shopping experience via storefronts that reflect the highest aesthetic standards."

The complaint included links to examples -- such as photos of sliced mushroomschicken quarters,and hummus.

Instacart also alleged that Cornershop “copied product titles, pricing, and product information, including product availability data.”

The complaint claimed Cornershop infringed copyright and violated the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act -- an anti-hacking law that prohibits companies from accessing computer servers without authorization.

Uber purchased a majority stake in Cornershop in October of 2019, and acquired the rest of the company last June.

Cornershop began operating in the U.S. in May of 2020, when it launched service in the Miami and Dallas areas.

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