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Precedent Set

Great news for people who think they should be able to grab any newsworthy photo off the Internet and use it as they choose.  You know, comment on it, mock it, point out that it was staged, stare in slack-jawed goober amazement at it, etc. The Associated Press agrees with you. Ironically enough, it’s about that hooker. Photo District News:    

When a prostitute hired by former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer was identified Wednesday, news outlets eagerly published photos grabbed from her MySpace profile.

Can they get away with that?

Three attorneys who specialize in copyright law say media organizations are sailing in dangerous waters if they publish a personal snapshot without permission.

…

The AP noted that the images were “obtained from a MySpace webpage” and specified that they were to be used, “only to illustrate news reporting or commentary on the facts or events surrounding the Eliot Spitzer prostitution scandal.” Reuters identified the images similarly, and flagged them as available only for editorial use.

Associated Press director of photography Santiago Lyon says AP consulted with its legal department before deciding to use the photos.

“Given the news value of the photographs, we decided that these were images that the public needed to see,” Lyon says.

That’s funny. That’s more or less what Brian Ledbetter was saying about his fauxtography criticism before he got bigfooted.

Of course the key words re the AP are not “news value” or “public needed to see,” but “legal department.”  When you’re a multi-million-$$$ corporation and you have one of those, then you get to decide what the public needs to see and where they get to see it.

Uh oh. Trouble in wire paradise. The call girl’s not happy about being forced to give it away. Isn’t there a joke about that?

Snapped Shot’s snap thoughts.  More on when Snapped Shot got shuttered.

Patterico: There’s hypocrisy, there’s principle. And sometimes, it’s about the money, too.

Malkin: Self-exempting journalism.

Welcome Punditeers, Corneristas, etal. We’ve got yer freedom of speech here … for the moment. About that hooker, this may be her shot at the American Dream … especially when AP and NYT are done paying her. Because it really is an American Story. A heartwarming shags-to-riches tale. 

Topics: media, sex, money

  Posted by Jules Crittenden at 2:55 pm on Friday, March 14, 2008

10 Responses to “Precedent Set”

1. Dave Surls Says:
   March 14th, 2008 at 7:04 pm

   U.S. Code

   “§ 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use”

   “Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright.”

   Brian has every right to use AP photos on his website for purposes of news reporting and commentary. AP has no exclusive rights in such a situation.

2. Pirate's Cove Says:
   March 15th, 2008 at 10:13 am

   What About When The Credentialed Media Uses Photos Wrongly?

   Many of you remember what happened to snapped shot: the AP sent him a cease and desist order, and demanded that he removed all AP photos from his site. This began a long discussion, with Bob Owens of Confederate Yankee contacting the AP, and coming to …

3. Mythusmage Opines » Petard Hoisting Says:
   March 15th, 2008 at 12:10 pm

   […] Associated Press gets its butt paddled by Jules Crittenden. Couldn’t have happened to a sleazier bunch of slime […]

4. Frisco Says:
   March 15th, 2008 at 12:48 pm

   Are you saying the AP has less integrity than a whore?

5. RebeccaH Says:
   March 15th, 2008 at 12:54 pm

   I hope “Kristen” makes use of the opportunity for more publicity and takes them to court.

6. The Dread Pundit Bluto Says:
   March 15th, 2008 at 2:40 pm

   Whore Fingers Associated Press…

   Is this the very same Associated Press that had their gigantic legal department viciously threaten blogger Brian Ledbetter to the point where he felt he had to remove all photos from his blog Snapped Shot?

7. Bull Moose Strikes Back » IP Law in Pop Culture Round-Up Says:
   March 16th, 2008 at 3:04 am

   […] Jules Crittenden, via Mark Steyn, via eCahce: Spitzer’s call girl is considering a copyright infringement suit […]

8. Huntress Says:
   March 16th, 2008 at 8:25 am

   “A heartwarming shags-to-riches tale. ”

   BRILLIANT! ROFLMAO!

   Only in America can a not so hot looking woman, who at times photographs well , sell her body (illegally) for more money than any man should pay for sex, and continue to sell her body(albeit legally) to Hollywood to make even MORE money on film, book & music rights.

   Then again, a stripper come screenwriter just won an Oscar!
   Is this what they mean when they say “sex sells” *SOL* ( snort out loud)

   Look for Ashley to launch line of fashion lingerie which bares her name and to receive an invite to the Vanity Fair party next year!!

   As for fair use: when one considers that Ashley’s photo has been shown on every major network before the AP used it….the whole fair use argument is on shakey ground.

   Ashley was removing all names of friends who posted on her Facebook or were listed as “friends’ so the media couldn’t get to them, but she added a ton of photos,.

   Hard to argue any kind of IP infringement with behavior like that.

   She wants those photos out there! Suddenly Ashley has become very savvy at marketing.
   How very “Madonna’ of her!

   However had Ashley’s photo been shot by an AP photographer, we know they’d be screaming Intellectual property theft even if SHE posted them on HER Facebook or Myspace especially if they were used by other media outlets, and bloggers.

   When it’s the AP using photos ( even those NOT from their library) it’s “fair use” but when it’s bloggers using photos it’s “copyright infringement” .

9. More creeping around the Interwebs « Tizona’s Weblog Says:
   March 16th, 2008 at 9:52 am

   […] Jules Crittenden: Precedent Set […]

10. cb.blog » Blog Archive » The MSM’s Photo Faux Pas Says:
    March 16th, 2008 at 10:29 am

    […] right to their own copyrighted photos for the purpose of discussing the very photos themselves, apparently finds a fair-use right to others’ copyrighted photos, even though the photos used were in no way related to the story (unless the AP can prove some link […]

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