## Facts

- eBay operated an online auction platform with high-volume traffic and required registered users to accept terms restricting automated copying or monitoring without prior written permission.
- eBay used technical measures (including robot exclusion headers) to signal that automated crawling was not permitted.
- Bidder’s Edge operated an auction-aggregation service that collected listings from multiple auction sites and used software robots to crawl eBay’s site.
- Bidder’s Edge’s robots made roughly 100,000 requests per day to eBay’s listing servers, accounting for about 1.1–1.53% of daily requests; a substantial portion of Bidder’s Edge’s aggregated listings came from eBay.
- eBay initially gave Bidder’s Edge temporary permission to crawl while the parties negotiated a license; after negotiations failed, eBay revoked permission and demanded that Bidder’s Edge stop.
- Bidder’s Edge resumed automated access after initially stopping and circumvented eBay’s blocking efforts.
- eBay alleged that the automated load consumed finite server capacity and, if replicated by others, risked slowdowns or outages, data loss, and harm to goodwill; the record did not show measurable degradation attributable solely to Bidder’s Edge at that time.

## Issues

1. Whether unauthorized, intentional automated crawling of eBay’s servers likely constituted trespass to chattels under California law by interfering with eBay’s possessory interest in its computer systems.
2. Whether eBay satisfied the requirements for a preliminary injunction by showing likely success on the merits and a sufficient threat of irreparable harm.

## Decision

- The court granted eBay’s motion for a preliminary injunction.
- The court found eBay was likely to succeed on its trespass to chattels claim because Bidder’s Edge intentionally accessed eBay’s servers after consent was revoked.
- The court concluded the “damage/impairment” element was likely satisfied because Bidder’s Edge consumed part of eBay’s finite system capacity and posed a risk of significant cumulative harm if similar conduct proliferated.
- The court held eBay showed a sufficient threat of irreparable harm, including potential service disruption, data loss, and injury to reputation and goodwill that would be difficult to quantify in damages.
- The injunction barred Bidder’s Edge from accessing eBay’s computer systems using any automated querying program without eBay’s written authorization.

## Legal Principles

- Trespass to chattels may apply to computer systems when a defendant intentionally and without authorization interferes with the plaintiff’s possessory interest and causes, or threatens, impairment to the condition, quality, or value of the system or its use.
- Unauthorized consumption of a portion of finite server capacity can constitute actionable interference even when current measurable performance harm is limited, where the conduct presents a substantial risk of aggregate harm if repeated by others.
- A preliminary injunction may issue on a showing of likelihood of success on the merits and the possibility of irreparable injury; difficulty measuring future operational and reputational harm can support injunctive relief.
- Public availability of a website does not, by itself, imply consent to automated access where the site owner expressly prohibits robotic querying through contractual terms and technical exclusion measures.

## Conclusion

The court enjoined Bidder’s Edge’s unauthorized automated crawling, holding that eBay was likely to prove trespass to chattels because the robots intentionally consumed finite server resources after permission was revoked and the threatened cumulative effects supported a finding of irreparable harm warranting preliminary relief.


eBay, Inc. v. Bidder’s Edge, Inc., 100 F. Supp. 2d 1058 (N.D. Cal. 2000)