OLX Claim That PakWheel Steal Their Classified Ads & User Data
OLX Claim That PakWheel Steal Their Classified Ads & User Data: The case between OLX and PakWheels is a product of increasing competition in a growing IT market and could have a positive affect while moving Pakistan closer to secure foreign IT investment.
What is the Conflict?
OLX Claim:
OLX claims that PakWheels has been stealing vehicle classifieds and user data from its website, and spamming OLX users. OLX has also claimed that PakWheels is accessing the servers of the accuser’s website through use of automated means, without the authorization and permission, for the purpose of extracting, copying and reproducing data. OLX’s Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan regional head has hoped from a court ruling, prohibiting such practices. “This case is about OLX fighting to protect the privacy of our users as well as our significant investment in marketing,” Bajwa told Reuters.
PakWheels Stance:
PakWheels states it did not steal any content from OLX. Its users can post an advertisement for free and they routinely copy-and-paste the same advertisements from one website to another, it says. PakWheels is an established local brand and is not using OLX logo either.
There are some 4,000 local tech startups employing more than 150,000 people in Pakistan, including billion dollar investment such as Careem, Afiniti, which uses artificial intelligence to pair callers with call centers, and Skyelectric emerging clean energy solutions firm. A legal battle between online marketplace OLX and Pakistan’s largest automobile sales website PakWheels over intellectual property theft and copyright infringement could help boost the confidence of big tech names to invest in the country.
The Court Ruling Will Benefit Future Investments How?
The court ruling will provide new laws on copyright, intellectual property and consumer protection for future business applications.
- That will bring more clarity to the law, letting companies and consumers know what protections they can expect in the future, they said.
- It’s going to become a benchmark other companies can use
- It will definitely make other companies more comfortable
Copyright is a much more serious issue in western markets, and websites like YouTube and Facebook abide by DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) to remove all copyrighted material once a complaint is received. Pakistan is taking intellectual property, data and copyright issues seriously as it wants its tech sector to grow. Facebook, Twitter, Google, and Apple all declined to comment, although Facebook said it had made some investments in skills development and digital literacy in Pakistan.