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Blogger Mathew Ingram reports that the Associated Press has gone after a news blog for infringing upon copyrights. In summary, the AP has gone after a blog that posts short excerpts pointing to original AP articles, claiming that "fair use" does not permit this practice.
What's the rationale? Some people think that they're not willing to let go of old practices.
The AP is pissed that their antiquated business model no longer exists. The AP is behaving more and more like a bully
Others believe that the AP is being fair but people are simply not abiding by their policies. In an AP statement, they say:
We get concerned, however, when we feel the use is more reproduction than reference, or when others are encouraged to cut and paste.
Not many people buy it, though. One forum member says that he'll stop quoting AP stories and quote a competitor (or a source that quotes the AP). I guess that most feel that AP really didn't do its due diligence in this matter.
More discussion on this topic is written on the SEOmoz blog and in The Lisa's wonderful summary. Even more discussion is on Techmeme.
Forum discussion continues at WebmasterWorld.
Comments:
os9user
06/17/2008 06:22 pm
They are charging $12.50 per 5 words is crap. Even Google will grab more words than that on a story index. I do not use AP on my News Site. Furthermore the attack on bloggers is unjustified ! If you quote a phrase "all men are created equal" you can clearly see this is worth $12.50 to the AP. This is a phrase from Declaration of Independence and is not worth a penny to any news agency. Sorry. Pick another 5 words ! You can not put a price tag on words. If the AP is trying to , just remember ; You can wash your socks in the News Media. There are plenty of news sources. What do I need the AP for ? There are better & more reliable sources out there. I just wrote about a false story reported on the AP (About Hillary Clinton). Do you think that was worth $12.50 ???? Or is AP just money hungry ! OS9USER
tamar
06/17/2008 09:57 pm
I am in total agreement with you, OS9USER. (btw, why not OSX?) :)