Well, it looks like the Associated press has decided to try and go the route of the RIAA and MPAA, and create a new “property” right on their material which completely eschews the idea of fair use.<\/p>\n
Specifically, they have gone after the Drudge Retort<\/a>, asking them to take down 7 links, “ranging from 39 to 79 words”.<\/p>\n This places me in the unpleasant position of agreeing with Jeff Jarvis, Liebercrat extrordinaire, that they are stupid, or insane, or both<\/a>.<\/p>\n According to Whiskey Fire<\/a>, the AP now has a schedule of licensing fees which start at $12.50 for 5 words<\/span>…I’m not joking here….Also, it appears to apply to blog comments too<\/span>.<\/p>\n Interestingly enough, the terms of service are even more restrictive than that. According to Patrick Nielsen Hayden, they also want to prohibit you from criticizing the Associated Press<\/a>, which means that all those folks following the hacktacular exploits of Nedra Pickler are simply out of luck, I guess.<\/p>\n As a result, TechCrunch<\/a>, and some other bloggers, including me, will boycott AP stories for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n