Quote:
Originally Posted by jbduke
I know it's a hopeless battle, but I must nevertheless request that you respect fair-use doctrines and not copy-and-paste entire works to this or any other forum.
|
Since I'm not in the mass media business, perhaps I don't understand exactly how this works and the crux of your complaint. Maybe you can enlighten me.
As you can clearly see, the story which I posted does not have a named author rather it comes from the Associated Press. I did some checking into what that is. Here is what I found:
FAQs | The Associated Press
2. Who owns The Associated Press?
The Associated Press is a
not-for-profit cooperative, which means it is owned by its 1,500 U.S. daily newspaper members. They elect a board of directors that directs the cooperative.
5. How can I become a member of The Associated Press and receive AP services?
If you are a newspaper, radio or television station, you can become a member of the AP cooperative.
6. How do I get permission to reprint an AP story or photo?
All requests for republication of AP material must be in writing, clearly stating the purpose and manner in which the copy will be used.
All republished material must carry AP credit. Unless specifically noted otherwise, all permission is given for one-time use only. No political candidate, political party, political action committee, polemical organization, or any group formed for partisan purpose may use AP copy in any publication.
There may be a fee for reprint use. For permission to reprint an AP story or to use AP material in online/electronic
form:
E-mail AP Digital:
[email protected], or fax 212-621-5488.
8. How can I get a copy of an AP story or photo?
AP stories are available on Lexis/Nexis at your local library.
So while I don't fully understand their business model, apparently, I was not harming any individual writer by posting the story as to my knowledge no one in particular claims AP works. Personally, I've never seen a by-line on an AP story.
The group is not out to make money as it is a not-for-profit cooperative. Obviously, the writers have to make some money for their efforts, but how that works and how much is a mystery to me.
I couldn't become a member of the AP if I wanted to as only newspapers, TV stations, and radio stations may do so.
In republishing the material as hundreds of media sources routinely do, I did include the AP credit as is asked.
If one writes to them and asks for permission to reprint one of there stories, it seems unlikely that they will want a fee. Their posted information clearly states that
there may be a fee, not that there is one!
All of their stories are available for nothing at any public library, so what possible harm is it to post one on this internet forum in order to share it with other readers? It seems to me that the AP freely distributes their news through our public libraries anyway.
You make a very strong statement that my OP constitutes stealing. Now I challenge you to support that.
Are you contending that if I or anyone else went to my local public library to read this story that I would somehow have to pay for it? If the library pays a fee to the AP make their material available haven't my tax dollars paid for it whether I go there or not?
I see that you think that certain entities carrying these stories deserve "clicks" on their sites. So is the business model of the AP to create content, sell that content to distributors, then have the distributors post it along with advertising which is purchased from them so that when a reader goes to that distributors to read the content they also view the ads? Is this how the AP writers make their salaries? Are they creators of content to be packaged and sold with advertising? If you are worried about the distributors getting their due, I can't sympathize with that. They seem to simply be middlemen who have created a closed monopoly. They set up a system from which only they have access to purchasing the content and then hope to turn around and sell this access to it for an even greater amount. What about that makes them deserving of anything? They didn't create squat.
Of course, the above is only the case for private distributors, but what about the public ones such as the libraries? They don't sell advertising or even membership. All of their funding comes from tax dollars. If the AP sells its content to them, didn't I actually pay for it with my tax contribution? So I'm not depriving those hard-working newsgatherers of any revenue. It's only debatable if I am depriving those in the carefully crafted distribution network of supporting numbers used to market themselves to advertisers.
While it is true that this site didn't pay the AP for the story, it isn't known as, nor does it depict itself as, a place where people can come to consistently read AP material. Posting an occasional story from them isn't going to circumvent the normal distribution model nor hurt the AP's revenue stream.
I think that I will write to the AP and ask them some of these questions in order to better understand what they do and how the do it. Until I learn otherwise, I think that your claims are nothing more than hyperbole.
BTW you contacted Duke University and obtained permission and of course paid for the ability to include their name in your screen handle, right?