[LINK] 'Linking' Associated Press

[Kim Holburn]

AP has gone a little overboard.  Oh and google has a contract with AP to
use their news.


http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2009/04/ap_threatens_to_sue_ap_affiliate_for_embedding_official_ap_youtube_vids-2.html
> 
> AP Threatens to Sue AP Affiliate for Embedding Official AP YouTube Vids

> First, the AP decided that fair use wasn't real and said it would start going after people for even using their headlines with links to their content. Now? The Associated Press has gone after one of its own affiliates for posting an AP video. An AP video embedded from the official AP YouTube page. Are you ****ing serious, AP?
> 
> The executive who called the station accused them of "stealing our licensed content." Here's a quote from an interview from the obviously frustrated station manager:
> 
> >    And we're an A.P. affiliate for crying out loud! I stumped him on that one... What is really shocking is that they were shocked that they've got a YouTube channel that people are embedding on their Websites. He seemed shocked by that. "Oh, I am going to have to look into that" is what he told me.

http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/08/ap-exec-doesnt-know-it-has-a-youtube-channel-threatens-affiliate-for-embedding-videos/

> A.P. Exec Doesn’t Know It Has A YouTube Channel: Threatens Affiliate For Embedding Videos

> Here is another great moment in A.P. history. In its quest to become the RIAA of the newspaper industry, the A.P.’s executives and lawyers are beginning to match their counterparts in the music industry for cluelessness. A country radio station in Tennessee, WTNQ-FM, received a cease-and-desist letter warning from an A.P. vice president of affiliate relations for posting videos from the A.P.’s official Youtube channel on its Website. See update below.
> 
> You cannot make this stuff up. Forget for a moment that WTNQ is itself an A.P. affiliate and that the A.P. shouldn’t be harassing its own members. Apparently, nobody told the A.P. executive that the august news organization even has a YouTube channel which the A.P. itself controls, and that someone at the A.P. decided that it is probably a good idea to turn on the video embedding function on so that its videos can spread virally across the Web, along with the ads in the videos. 






stephen at melbpc.org.au wrote:
> The AP's Desperate Attempt To Outlaw Search Engine Links
>  
> By Rich Ord - Fri, 04/10/2009 - 18:59 
> http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2009/04/06/the-aps-desperate-attempt-to-
> outlaw-linking
> 
> 
> An Associated Press (AP) win could kill "fair use" and change the 
> Internet as we know it.
> 
> The AP is launching an all out assault on any use of its content that is 
> not licensed (purchased) for use by Internet publishers and search 
> engines..
> 
> The AP believes that desperate times call for desperate measures and that 
> means demanding royalties from any company profiting from any aspect of 
> their content. 
> 
> When Google links to an AP story in a search result with an Adwords ad on 
> the page the AP expects to be paid..
> 
>>From the AP's perspective, the concept of 'fair use' is primitive and 
> counter to their desperate desire to prevent their demise in an ad 
> supported Internet content economy. 
> 
> The Associated Press Board of Directors, which is made up mostly of 
> newspaper executives, has issued a member call to arms against anyone and 
> everyone who misappropriates AP content..
> 
> Sue Cross, a senior vice president of AP told reporters as printed in the 
> New York Times:
> 
> " When asked if The A.P. would require a licensing agreement before a 
> search engine could show specific material, Ms. Cross said, “that could 
> be an element of it,” but added, “it’s not that formed.”"
> 
> Obviously, the AP doesn't consider a link that goes with the republished 
> headline or snippet sufficient payment. 
> 
> The AP's stated goal is to make it illegal either through the courts or 
> by new laws to link (with a quote) to copyrighted content on the Internet 
> without the permission of the copyright holder.
> 
> If the AP is successful, and they clearly believe they will be, then the 
> Internet will be changed as we know it. Linking (with snippets or not) to 
> the content of others could become a permission based concept where one 
> only links (and quotes) after they have received the appropriate approval.
> 
> If content owners like the AP can sue search engines for unauthorized use 
> of their content and win a share of their ad revenue, then the Google 
> apple cart could be turned upside down.
> 
> --
> 
> Cheers,
> Stephen
> 
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
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