Saturday, June 21, 2008

AP relents - a little - on bloggers' rights

There's a non-resolution resolution to the recent flap caused when the Associated Press attempted to crack down on what it considered un-fair use of its published stories.

In a statement Friday, Rogers Cadenhead said he is "glad" the dispute over his site, the Drudge Retort, has ended. He said a larger conflict remains between AP's view of acceptable use of its content and the practices of many bloggers. Cadenhead declined to comment further, referring all questions to his attorney.

An AP statement Thursday night said the company had provided additional information to Cadenhead about posting its material online, and both sides considered the matter closed. It also said the AP was having a "constructive exchange" with a "number of interested parties in the blogging community" about the relationship between bloggers and news providers, and intended to continue the dialogue.

Earlier this month the AP sent a legal notice ordering Cadenhead to take down seven entries on the Drudge Retort, his takeoff on the Drudge Report. The news agency said the postings were violating the AP's copyright.

Cadenhead highlighted the disagreement in his personal blog, http://www.Cadenhead.org, and prominent bloggers rallied behind him, saying the posts in question were protected under the "fair use" provision of copyright law. That allows quotation of copyright material for commentary and certain other purposes without asking permission.

In response, the AP said it was working to develop guidelines for what it considered permissible use of its content by bloggers.

AP, blogger resolve dispute over copyright
By SETH SUTEL, AP Business Writer Fri Jun 20, 4:59 PM ET

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