Associated Repress

This screenshot shows the Associated Press’s attempt to charge for the educational and nonprofit use of excerpts from AP news stories, even though the use of both are protected under the Fair Use clause of the United States Copyright Law. The AP is now going a step further and proclaiming that laws should not apply to them.

_______________________

In 2008, the Associated Press (and I’m hoping that they don’t sue me for using their name without a license) made headlines—no pun intended—when they created their “price list” for quoting five words or more from any AP story.

They’re now going to go after anyone who uses their content—no matter the purpose—in an effort to make up for a loss of revenue that has come about due to the Internet.

Now don’t get me wrong—I have no objection to standing up to Websites that simply copy-and-paste entire stories with no purpose other than to copy-and-paste news stories. My concern is a comment that was made by Dean Singleton, the AP’s chairman. In what appears to be his view of things like the Fair Use clause of the United States Copyright Law, he says: “We can no longer stand by and watch others walk off with our work under misguided legal theories.”

Misguided legal theory? Is he serious? The Fair Use clause was included in the law and reads as follows:

Section 107 contains a list of the various purposes for which the reproduction of a particular work may be considered “fair,” such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Section 107 also sets out four factors to be considered in determining whether or not a particular use is fair:

1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
2. the nature of the copyrighted work;
3. amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

The distinction between “fair use” and infringement may be unclear and not easily defined. There is no specific number of words, lines, or notes that may safely be taken without permission. Acknowledging the source of the copyrighted material does not substitute for obtaining permission.

Now, if we follow the law, we can see that if a blogger or any other outlet uses a particular news article for non-commercial purposes we would be falling within the guidelines of the law. For instance, if I use an excerpt from an article, and then analyze it for intellectual purposes, I should be able to do so without fear of legal action because my use is for a nonprofit educational purpose. In addition, the effect of using the article would not affect the market for it or the value of it.

The AP, however, has now publicly said that they’re not interested in adhering to the law. The Fair Use clause, they say, is a “misguided legal theory.”

At first, my solution was going to be that from now on I’ll be sure to avoid any and all AP stories on my blog. But then I realized that there’s another approach to this story.

If the AP can say that the law does not apply to anything related to them or their content, I shall now announce that anything that the AP says will simply not apply to me—no matter what the law says (the AP has already said that the law is irrelevant). In fact, I’ll go one step further and say that if the AP even attempts to criticize me, I’ll charge them a “criticism fee”:

• 5-25 criticisms: $12.50

• 26-50 criticisms: $17.50

• 51-100 criticisms: $25

• 101-250 criticisms: $50

• 251 criticisms and up: $100

These fees will only apply to the Associated Press. Everyone else can criticize me for free—just as long as everyone else is willing to adhere to the law that the AP has decided to ignore.

References

MacMillan, Robert. “AP Cuts Newspaper Rates, Moves to Protect Web News.” Reuters/Yahoo! News. 6 Apr. 2009.

Masnick, Mike. “Associated Press: Fair Use Limits You to Four Words; Five Words Costs $12.50.” Techdirt. 17 June 2008.

Sanchez, Julian. “AP Launches Campaign Against Internet ‘Misappropriation.’” Ars Technica. 6 Apr. 2009.

United States. United States Copyright Office. “Fair Use.” July 2006.

Ω