Not looking good for its attack on DHG, REA might lose in Federal Court and unlike BCI which looks like destroying all credibility of CoreLogic as CoreLogic's low cost model cripples it, REA looks like losing out to DHG, just like Challenger Services looks likely to lose its ACCC bid to destroy Downer Group's credibility. Change my sentiment on REA to sell from hold.
Property analytics firm BCI Central is suing its larger rival, CoreLogic, claiming the group scraped swaths of information from BCI’s platform by roping in subscribers to poaching its customers.
CoreLogic is one of the world’s biggest property data and analytics businesses and was taken private by Stone Point Capital and Insight Partners in a $US6 billion ($9.4 billion) deal three years ago.
CoreLogic International chief executive Lisa Claes was allegedly aware of a scheme where her company scraped data from BCI platforms. Dominic Lorrimer
The legal battle between the warring platforms began three years ago, but only recently gained traction with the Federal Court ordering CoreLogic to serve up 176,000 documents this month ahead of a hearing next year.
It is also the second such dispute in as many months; real estate listings giant REA group sued Domain in November accusing its main competitor of infringing on its copyright over property photos and floor plans displayed online. Domain, which is defending the claim, argues REA’s lawsuit is an uncompetitive bid to exert market influence as the biggest classifieds company nationally.
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