Just a quick update on the AP fiasco…
The AP actually wants bloggers to pay for quoting as few as five words. This war on bloggers and “fair use” is going to get uglier before it gets resolved. The AP is really shaking up the blogosphere. There are ten’s of thousands of outraged posts about the AP’s assault on “fair use” and the spirit of digital information dissemination.
I’m not sure if this pricing structure was out there prior to the Facebook-beacon program-esque fiasco of this past week, but I found the schedule for “Excertp Web Use”, which includes excerpts as low as five words. In a previous statement from the AP, even a well crafted headline has vast intrinsic value and would be considered an infringement of copyright.
The basic priciple of a big traditional media company like AP creating their own rules creates an emotional reaction. The restriction of free thought regarding third party content will stifle and limit content distribution. This alienation of bloggers may cause irreparable harm. Continue reading my last post for more on this topic…
