[Infowarrior] - AP Quotes Blogger In Discussing Bloggers Quoting AP; Hilarity Ensues

[Richard Forno]

AP Quotes Blogger In Discussing Bloggers Quoting AP; Hilarity Ensues

The ongoing ridiculous situation brewing between bloggers and the  
Associated Press has now taken a turn towards the enjoyably hilarious.  
We had already mentioned the fact that, despite the AP's complaints  
that bloggers quoting less than 100 words were violating fair use, the  
AP had a long history of quoting more than 100 words from bloggers --  
and not even linking back to the original blog. Now, in a bit of  
ultimate irony, the AP's own article about this brouhaha quoted  
(without linking) twenty-two words from TechCrunch. That's 18 words  
more than the supposed four word "limit" the AP has suggested. With an  
ironic chance that wide, TechCrunch's Michael Arrington couldn't  
resist, and asked his lawyer to send a DMCA takedown notice to the  
Associated Press, along with a bill for $12.50 (directly off the AP's  
own pricing schedule). He admits that it's ridiculous, but that's what  
his actions are designed to present. By law, the AP should be required  
to takedown the content before filing a response -- though, since it's  
filing the response to itself, then perhaps it won't need to takedown  
the content. Either way, this helps illustrate the insanity of the  
entire situation.

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http://techdirt.com/articles/20080619/2203451460.shtml