AP Has Already Lost

The Associated Press has launched a very aggressive campaign to protect its intellectual property - and its revenue - from other online sources, particularly blogs. The campaign features some angry, if a bit cliche, language from its current Chairman:

We can no longer stand by and watch others walk off with our work under misguided legal theories. We are mad as hell, and we are not going to take it any more.

AP, Please don't sue me.

Julian Sanchez at Ars Technica posits another point of view on the subject, and John Aravosis at Americablog points out that AP may not be practicing what it preaches.

I had a long diatribe planned about technology and social media and journalism and economics and legal theory. But I'll spare you all that drivel and ask one thing of AP.

I'd like AP to provide some examples of what they think constitutes "fair use" of their content. If they won't, then they just can't be taken seriously.

This is an organization that tried to charge bloggers $12.50 for using as little as FIVE WORDS from an article. And this is an organization who threatened to sue people for using the embed codes AP provided when they posted videos to YouTube.

I realize AP is "non-profit," but when litigation (or the threat of it) is at the core of your business strategy, you've already lost.