AP Fighting Online Copyright Infringement

The Associated Press has been active in filing suits against websites and other news services reprinting their content without permission. This week in New York a settlement was reached with a website that used AP content without authorization. In this particular case, the AP relied on a 1918 Supreme Court decision referred to as the "hot news" doctrine. The decision was that while a fact in itself cannot be copyrighted, there is still a right for a news provider who publishes time-sensitive news to sue for damages another who reprints that time-sensitive information. The new case decided this week held that this 91-year-old legal precedent still is valid.

The article detailing this case found here says it's just another in a series of cases that the AP is fighting in order to protect their original content. While I believe they have every right to protect the original content created by their staff, my mind boggles at all of the times in a day that the AP are ripped off online. There is no possible way they could fight even a third of all of the times their content is reprinted without permission on the Internet. But I suppose if they fight against the largest web aggregators and sites that steal their stories, in that way they can at least discourage people from using their material. It must be to their benefit financially to fight these cases despite legal costs, or I can't imagine they would be so vigilant in their fight.