If this is an accurate summary of the legal situation (not at all something one can assume with this publication) then it sounds as if Craigslist simply needs to change their terms so that a user agrees that Craigslist has a perpetual and exclusive copyright on the content of listings. Then you may be able to aggregate the data in some form, but would have to be careful how you used the content of the listings.
Copyright transfers must be assigned explicitly and in writing (digital signature would be okay).
"(a) A transfer of copyright ownership, other than by operation of law, is not valid unless an instrument of conveyance, or a note or memorandum of the transfer, is in writing and signed by the owner of the rights conveyed or such owner's duly authorized agent."
So the standard TOS at the bottom of a page would not be okay to transfer copyright.
According to the decision, craigslist moved to a click-through eventually.
I think they tried this for a bit (last summer?), but it didn't last long. The few times I need to use Craigslist I can't afford to give them an exclusive license.
Exactly. There was also speculation that they realized it could open them up to liability for the content of posts, which obviously they would not want.
