In today’s New York Times, I learned that “AP Cracked Down On Unpaid Use of Content.” This is the latest move in the ongoing story about compensating creators for online content. Web content creators have struggled because their content draws clicks, but it has been hard to prevent others from profiting.
Software to License and Track Use of Content
According to the story, AP plans to add software to each article which describes limits on use. It will also notify AP about how that content is being used.
AP will charge licensing fees even for use of the title and hyperlink by search engines, aggregators and blogs. Those users say that titles and links should be free because they fall within the provisions of the legal doctrine “fair use.”
AP, a nonprofit with 1,400 members, plans to introduce the new software gradually over the next year. They will encourage their members to use it as well.
In my opinion, such broad-based efforts have a chance to succeed if they can avoid anti-trust challenges. The move to compensation for certain online content seems inevitable and fair. This will likely require a coordinated effort by content providers.
Will Google, the Search Engine, and I, a Blogger, Have To Pay To Link To New Articles?
Will I have to pay eventually for the NYT link above in this blog? What do you think?
