The New York Times reports about new software to track illegal postings from Associated Press. See http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/27/technology/start-ups/27attributor.html?_r=1
Clearly, news agencies have to monetize their products to pay writers and journalists. by people copying articles and providing alternative access, advertising rights are adversely affected.
There is a problem though. The Associated Press has a copyright notice that implies that reworking a piece is illegal and is copyright infringement. Copyright only extends as far as the expression of the idea and not the idea itself. Their journalist’s writing is copyright, the research and fact-finding isn’t. I can and do blog news articles that I read elsewhere. I sometimes acknowledge the source and sometimes don’t. I need to acknowledge sources of ideas, the creative aspect. But the leg-work? Not sure…
That said, if news agencies cannot monetize their work, they won’t do it. It could be that there is room for a special law (lex specialis) here. How about a short term news copyright on facts for 2 days or perhaps a week?
