Associated Press Tries To DRM The News
from the good-luck-with-that dept
DRM has failed in almost every instance it's been tried. Not only does it fail to actually prevent copying, it tends to piss off legitimate users and limit value rather than enhance it. And yet... people keep trying. But, honestly, I can't think of anything as pointless as the latest move from the Associated Press which appears to be an attempt to DRM the news. That's not what they call it, but that's what it sounds like:The Associated Press Board of Directors today directed The Associated Press to create a news registry that will tag and track all AP content online to assure compliance with terms of use. The system will register key identifying information about each piece of content that AP distributes as well as the terms of use of that content, and employ a built-in beacon to notify AP about how the content is used....Hopefully I haven't "violated" that rule by quoting the section above. It really does sound like the mythical dreams of DRM that the software industry discussed two decades ago and the music industry discussed a decade ago. Neither one worked -- and both of those were (theoretically) a lot more "protectable" than news. Honestly, it's difficult to think of anything quite this useless:
The registry will employ a microformat for news developed by AP and which was endorsed two weeks ago by the Media Standards Trust, a London-based nonprofit research and development organization that has called on news organizations to adopt consistent news formats for online content. The microformat will essentially encapsulate AP and member content in an informational "wrapper" that includes a digital permissions framework that lets publishers specify how their content is to be used online and which also supplies the critical information needed to track and monitor its usage.
- It won't work. It physically can't work. News is news. You can't put any real DRM on it, because it's so easy to copy text and remove any sort of "registry" tags.
- It removes value. Nothing in this move increases the value of the AP's content to anyone. It does the opposite. It significantly limits the value, and for those who actually want to help promote the content, it now gives you extra incentives not to do so.
- It's a waste of AP resources. At a time when the AP should be focusing on looking for ways to add value to create a better business model, it's now about to throw away money, time and staff on putting together a DRM for news that doesn't work? Talk about screwed up priorities.
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Filed Under: drm, journalism, news
Companies: associated press
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Through no fault or your own, this site is becoming the Onion of IP crap. Unfortunately, unlike the Onion, it's not satire.
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I do laugh at a lot of these stories, much like the onion. The failure is quite hilarious in some cases.
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You ever stare into the cold, blinking cursor of a monitor connected to the 'net and just get every human nuance that every author writes in a blog? I'm betting, like me, a human, probably not. So f'off.
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Example, while a handful of oddball patents get approved each year, hundreds (and thousands) of good and valid ones also make it through the process. Your heart surgeon would be praised for having that level of success.
If you want to look hard enough, you can always find issues, but it doesn't mean the system is broken, just that someone is way too focused on a very, very small part of a much larger picture. So when Mike suggests that we roll back Copyright or get rid of patents, he is dismissing the bigger picture based on only what he can see right in front of his nose, pressed up against a failure point.
Balance is something that is sorely lacking.
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Heh. You don't get far by making stuff up. A rather large % of the posts are on folks who are making stuff work.
To say there's rarely an upside discussion is perhaps your own observer bias from someone who wants to make us look bad. We spend a lot of time highlight the positives.
If you want to look hard enough, you can always find issues, but it doesn't mean the system is broken, just that someone is way too focused on a very, very small part of a much larger picture.
Heh. Again, making stuff up doesn't get you very far. We've highlighted at least a dozen studies that looked at the overall system and showed that it is very, very broken across the board.
Balance is something that is sorely lacking.
It ain't about balance. It's about reality!
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nonsense
um... wrong? if someone wants to do something and you are in position to prohibit them from doing so, you can make them pay you to not prohibit them. the key is to find the price point at which they'll still pay you to not prohibit them. the better argument is that DRM is a laughably ineffective tool at enforcing these prohibitions.
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Re: nonsense
If your business is failing, making your product less appealing will do nothing to save you. Ever.
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Seriously, how does this not sound like an endorsement for a protection racket? They want to do business. You can make them pay or prohibit them from doing so.
Look, this is a bad neighborhood, and things sometimes...happen...here. For a small fee, we can watch your store, make sure it's safe, really take care of ya, you know?
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Hey! I have a patent on that business model!
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Re: nonsense
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Re: nonsense
You're assuming that such a price point exists and is greater than zero.
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Re: nonsense
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right. that has worked out fantastically well for the music, movie, software and video game industries.
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According to the AP, you probably have. Nuts, isn't it?
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Bring it ON!
The sooner the 'Asshat Posse' (AP) rides off into the bankruptcy sunset, the better.
The AP looks like damage to the internet and news is being routed around it just fine thank you.
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A.P. Cracks Down on Unpaid Use of Articles on Web
New York Times
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Re: A.P. Cracks Down on Unpaid Use of Articles on Web
OK, nice goal, now please proceed directly to fail. Good luck with staying solvent.
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Human Problem Solving Technique
1. Piss and cry and wait for somebody else to solve your problem.
2. Try several non-working solutions to your problem.
3. Knuckle down and adjust, solve problem.
This appears to be exactly what AP is doing...
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Re: Human Problem Solving Technique
3. Knuckle down and adjust, solve problem.
This appears to be exactly what AP is doing..."
Does it? I think they're still at stage two of your scheme.
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Re: Re: Human Problem Solving Technique
Obviously the AP is following the same approach to problem solving that 2 year olds do.
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Re: Human Problem Solving Technique
it's a good thing that two year olds can't file lawsuits and bribe politicians.
there will be much lobbying and lawyering before this is settled.
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Green Dam
it's somewhat ironic that an industry that's been the beneficiary of the first amendment so often is now trying to bottle even the interpretation of it's content.
They should just get a patent on "a procedure or methodology to propagate information of past events directly to carbon based lifeforms within 24 hours"
Then they could just demand "royalties".
one other thing I've noticed, There seems to be a trend where someone posts a flame the second that a new entry hits TD. I usually remove the "crap" blogs from my RSS reader. We all know sleaze ball Lawyers LOVE them some IP MMMMmm Mmm. Smells like litigation.
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The Next Step
I'm really awaiting the brain stem chips so they can just go ahead and DRM our thoughts.
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You can't win...
The only way for the AP to remain relevant is to move forward. Any other course of action is equivalent to giving up and going home.
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When your sooooper-genius new business model...
Seriously, didn't they bother to ask a qualified technical person their opinion of this new "microformat"?
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I do think what AP is doing will fail, but I swear every TD article I read says "fix your business model". Its not that easy. Not trolling, just an observation.
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Also, it's not an 'article', it's a 'blog'. :)
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:)
an article in a blog.. what a concept.
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Re the Onion comment and response
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Ive always wondered
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How is this considered DRM?
Don't get me wrong, I'm not defending AP. There are some very real Fair Use issues at stake here. But to confuse those issues by bringing DRM into the discussion only clouds the issue. You might get more links/attention by taking this approach, but you damage your credibility in the process.
Further, as microformats become more widespread you'll find yourself in the interesting position of having to use and/or defend the technology that you've characterized as being a form of DRM. Good luck with that.
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"http://www.tallsheepskinboots.net"
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